Light in Dark Places
by Eilan-san
Summary: [PostSeries] Even after the fairy tale, life goes on for Kagome. Unfortunately for her, Destiny decided a long time ago that her journey wasn't complete and two worlds are about to collide in ways she never imagined. Crossover with Harry Potter. [HK]
1. Prologue I: Kagome

**Light in Dark Places**

By: Eilan-san

ooo

Prologue I: Kagome

_I'm sure the heart I left behind_

_Still lies in the heart of the deep, deep forest._

_Do As Infinity, "Fukai Mori"_

ooo

She missed Japan. She missed Japan a lot. Especially the food. Everything she'd heard about English food was right… it really was _terrible_. She glanced down at the instant miso soup she'd picked up at the local Asian market it didn't hold a candle to the real stuff, but it was better than nothing.

She sighed wistfully.

What she wouldn't give for her mother's oden right about now.

Kagome Higurashi glanced out the window of her apartment. She hadn't been in England long, but she was already wishing she could just go home. And the snow falling outside certainly wasn't helping.

She'd graduated the previous spring; her mother and brother in the audience as she received her doctorate. She'd smiled with tears in her eyes and they had told all of their friends about how smart she was, and how far she'd come after her bouts of sickness during middle school.

Unfortunately, what they don't tell you is that with a doctorate you're basically overqualified for _everything._ She'd spent an entire summer and fall searching for a job, and she'd finally gotten a call from the University of London asking her to join their distinguished World Literature faculty. Apparently they thought by adding her they would be more "cultured." She hadn't really wanted to leave Tokyo, but when you've got a PhD in Japanese Studies, beggars really can't be choosers. She was lucky she'd gotten a faculty appointment at all.

Although now she regretted coming in mid-year. Another professor had had to leave in a hurry and they needed a quick replacement to teach his classes. She enjoyed teaching – in fact, she'd almost say she was pretty good at it – but it had been tough getting used to a new place with little to no introduction. Especially when English was very clearly her second language; and unfortunately for her, most of the faculty in the department weren't exactly the overly friendly type.

She spent most of her time either teaching, working in her office or holed up in her apartment. She hadn't made any friends in the whole month she'd been here and she was starting to get very lonely.

She looked around her empty apartment – white walls with only the barest amounts of furniture (a lowly associate professor could only afford so much) and a few framed posters of ancient Japanese prints. Her favorite print was hanging in her room above her bed. It told the story of her favorite legend – painted by a medieval monk named Miroku – the legend of a hanyou and a priestess and their search for the Jewel of Four Souls.

Kagome smiled. She imagined Miroku laughing at her if he could see her now. Since she'd fallen so far behind in her studies, when her quest was over and she'd returned home (albeit not by her own choice) she'd done the only thing she could think of. There was definitely one subject she knew a lot about: medieval Japanese history. After spending several summers catching up in school, she applied to the University of Tokyo and received a Bachelor's in history, and then went on to get an MA and PhD, specializing in Japanese folklore. And well, when you've lived history, it gives you a slightly unfair advantage over the rest of academic community.

Her face dropped – it wasn't like she'd asked to be returned to her own world after her adventures in the Sengoku Jidai. She'd known – maybe she'd always known – she'd been chosen because she had the ability to return to her own world once her task was finished. They all knew that a day would come when Inuyasha would hold the completed Shikon no Tama in his hands and he would decide his fate, and perhaps the rest of theirs too.

One of the things Kagome had loved best about him was his sense of duty, even if it was that sense of duty that had taken him away from her in the end. On a cool moonless night, he'd taken her aside and asked her if she could give him up so that everything that had gone wrong since Naraku had appeared could be righted again. His duty was to protect Kikyou – and even though he loved Kagome, she _knew_ he loved her – he had given his promise to Kikyou centuries before Kagome had ever even been born.

She'd been angry. Bitter, even. But she'd understood. And that had made her even more angry. She wanted to behave like a spoiled child who wasn't getting her way – it was so much easier when you were allowed to act badly but in the end, she'd handed Inuyasha the completed jewel, hugged him goodbye and jumped in the well for the last time without ever looking back. If she'd looked back, she knew she would never have been able to leave.

Later, when she'd stopped crying, her mother reminded her of the legend about the shrine she'd grown up at: a hanyou had cleared the land and built a house for a Buddhist monk, his demon slayer wife and their many, many children. Eventually the land was passed down to two of their daughters who had become Shinto priestesses and they, in turn, founded the shrine that would one day become her home. After many years, the descendants of the houshi and taijiya she had known so well took the surname of Higurashi. She'd beamed for the rest of that day – even if she had never seen her friends grow old, she was carrying around a piece of them with her.

_I can't cry. It's been almost ten years, there's no reason for me to cry_.

She was angry again.

It was almost appropriate. Sickeningly appropriate. All the Japanese fairy tales endings were sad and beautiful, and she had long ago come to the conclusion that hers was no different. Life wasn't perfect, and although she longed for her own happy ending, she was glad that her friends had found peace with each other.

She wiped her eyes and went back to sipping her soup.

And… as much as part of her was still hurt, even after so many years, she hoped that Kikyou had made Inuyasha as happy as he had made her during those short few months she had been in the Sengoku Jidai.

And now she was here. She had a life to live, and as her friends had lived theirs – she would live hers.

She just hoped the food would get better.


	2. Prologue II: Harry

**Light in Dark Places**

By: Eilan-san

ooo

Prologue II: Harry

_Every beginning_

_is only a sequel, after all,_

_and the book of events_

_is always open halfway through._

_Wislawa Szymborksa_

ooo

Harry hated using the underground.

He imagined Lord Voldemort laughing at him – if he hadn't died over ten years ago – the famous Harry Potter, standing around with a bunch of muggles in a dark, cold and dingy subway station at 9:00 in the morning.

He sighed and tapped his foot impatiently as he checked his watch. The train was due in ten minutes to bring him back to London and he thought it was in the general direction of the McDonald's, but he wasn't sure. His stomach growled loudly. He'd been conducting an investigation into a dark wizard in the next county and hadn't had time to eat yet and –

He never stood a chance.

It was like it was happening in slow motion. He saw the mass of wavy black hair flying towards him but he couldn't stop it before it careened clear into him.

A split second later, Harry found himself on the ground with the person lying on top of him and books scattered all around them. He groaned and rubbed his head as his assailant rolled off of him.

"Gomen nasai… I'm sorry! I'm lost and I didn't see you standing there!" a voice said in accented English.

Harry lifted his head and found himself looking into a pair of coffee brown eyes and a sheepish smile. His assailant was a pretty Asian woman around his own age. She offered him a hand up with a sheepish smile.

"Don't worry about it," Harry replied as he took her hand and hoisted himself off of the ground. Her grin was contagious and Harry couldn't help but smile back at her. "I'm alright, only a couple of bruises."

"I'm really sorry, sir," she said, assessing him for grievous injuries. She seemed genuinely upset at the thought she might have hurt him.

He laughed lightly. "I'm only joking," he said reassuringly. "I'll be fine."

She sighed with relief. "Good. I'm already running late and I haven't the faintest idea of where I'm going." She turned to him, eyes shining with hope. "I hate to bother you any more than I have already, but…" she scratched her head, looking around the train station, embarrassed. "I'm trying to get back to the University of London, do you know what train I should take?"

"Um…" he briefly consulted his train schedule. "Actually, it's the train I'm taking. Number 64 on platform 5."

He looked back up at her and couldn't help but grin. She looked so pitiful with those big, brown eyes silently pleading with him. "Please?" she mouthed.

He sighed, feigning exasperation, "I suppose you want me to take you."

"Oh, I thought you would never ask!" she exclaimed bending down to gather up her things.

Harry laughed and leaned over to help her pick up the books that had fallen out of her very worn out yellow backpack.

He read the title of the book he was holding, "_Anthology of Japanese literature, from the earliest era to the mid-nineteenth century_, by Donald Keene." He looked at her quizzically and handed her the book. "Are you a student?"

She flushed. "No," she said flatly. "I'm a professor in the World Literature department, actually"

"Oh… So you teach Japanese literature?" he asked.

She nodded. "I specialized in folklore though, ancient legends and such." She quickly stuffed the rest of the books into her bag and hoisted it onto her back.

There was an awkward silence. Harry didn't know if he'd said something wrong or if he'd done something…

"Do I really look that young?" she asked.

Harry's surprised look turned into a laugh as he realized what she'd said.

She continued, flustered. "I mean, I know I'm only 27, but still… you thought I was an undergraduate?"

Harry shook his head. "No, you don't look that young. I thought maybe you were a graduate student or something."

She sighed with relief. "Oh, good. For a second there I thought I was going to have to hit you."

He laughed again and she laughed too. She had a nice lilting laugh, he noticed.

"So, what do you do?" she asked.

"I… uh…" Harry scratched his head. Since she was a muggle, he highly doubted she'd believe him even if he told her the truth. How do you tell a normal person that you raid the houses of dark wizards to keep them from rebelling and trying to take over the world? He settled for a half-truth,"I work for the Ministry."

"Really?" she said, curious. "What do you do for the ministry?"

Flustered, Harry checked his watch. "Uh… we probably should head towards the train so we don't miss it."

"Oh! Right. Let's get going then." She gestured for him to lead the way.

The train was actually much closer than he thought, and it was right on time.

_Good, I can get into the office with plenty of time to prepare my report, _he thought.

The train was crowded with people trying to make their way downtown to shop or to see the museums and the sheer mass of people made him nervous. He felt a warm hand on his arm and his heart skipped a beat as he looked at her to see her smiling reassuringly at him.

_Why am I so flustered all of a sudden? This really isn't like me. _

Oh.

She was the first person to treat him like he was _normal _in a very long time. In fact, this was the first person that managed to hold a polite conversation with him for an extended period of time without noticing his scar or mentioning He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

Even after 10 years, he still couldn't escape the looks and the awe of his peers. He heard their whispers, "That's the boy who defeated the Dark Lord," or "That's the famous Harry Potter, you know the one!" Or his personal favorite, "That's the boy who was fated to save us from You-Know-Who!" Harry frowned. It's not like he _chose_ to be the one noted in the prophecy.

She was looking at him strangely again. Pushing those thoughts out of his head, he decided to concentrate on the woman sitting next to him. Even if it was only for a little while, it was nice to be treated normally again.

During the trip, he asked about her family and discovered that she was originally from Tokyo, and still had family there and that she'd only been in London for a month. He listened as she talked about how she taught at the University of London and was excited about being tenure-track, and that she missed her family terribly. Harry's heart flared with sympathy. She was a lonely soul like him, and he welcomed the connection, even if only for a little while; and when it was time for her to get off at her stop, he felt sad to see her go.

She hesitated at the door. Turning to him, suddenly shy and blushing slightly she said, "Maybe I'll see you around sometime."

"That would be nice," he replied quietly. She started out the door when he realized something.

"Hey!" he called. "I don't even know your name!"

She turned back and he struggled to hear her over the din of the other passengers.

"Kagome. Kagome Higurashi," she replied.

_Kagome,_ he thought. _That's a nice name. _He smiled to himself and when he looked back, she was gone.

It wasn't until he reached his own stop that he realized that he'd never told her his own name.


	3. Chapter 1: Happenstance

**Light in Dark Places**

By: Eilan-san

ooo

Chapter 1: Happenstance

_Home is behind, the world ahead,_

_And there are many paths to tread._

_Through shadow, to the edge of night_

_Until the stars are all alight._

_Mist and shadow, cloud and shade,_

_All shall fade, all shall fade._

_--Tolkien, "The Lord of the Rings"_

ooo

_A few weeks later…_

Harry had been dozing in his office in the Auror Division of the Ministry of Magic, when he heard a knock on his office door. He quickly shook his head to clear his thoughts, and sat back in his chair, motioning for the other party to enter.

A mop of flaming red hair poked itself inside the doorframe and Harry smiled. He was surprised to see him at work at all today, especially after Hermione's little announcement. He'd been in the middle of a nap when the phone rang, and on the other end of the line was an extremely excited Ron yelling at the top of his lungs, "I'm gonna be a Daddy!"

"Harry, mate, have you finished the paperwork from that raid yesterday?" Ron asked.

Harry nodded.

"Brilliant, we have a new case for you to investigate." Ron handed him a file folder and Harry began to flip through it, skimming the pages.

"This is all we have?" Harry looked back up at Ron, incredulously.

Ron grimaced. "Some poor bloke was found wandering around Glastonbury last week mumbling, 'light in dark places, light in dark places,' over and over again. He'd been completely obliviated."

"According to the report it was a muggle?" Harry asked.

"Yeah… he was a scholar of some sort in mythology. I guess Oxford will need an explanation as to his whereabouts. I'll put Hermione on it."

"You're actually going to let her work? In her condition?" Harry grinned.

"It wasn't really my choice, Harry, you know how Hermione can be," Ron frowned, clearly unhappy about his wife working.

Harry laughed, "Yes I do, and I know that I would never want to get in her way, especially when she's pregnant."

"Oh, you have no idea," Ron groaned and slumped into a chair opposite Harry. "She's been throwing up every morning for the past week and the Mediwitch told me it'll probably get worse. However, she is allowed to keep working, so she'll continue as liaison from the Ministry of Magic to the rest of the government, as much as I'd rather she didn't."

"Well, you are the Base Operator for the Auror Division, so I suppose you can pick and choose which assignments she takes on," Harry said, and an impish smile bloomed on his face. "Although, if she catches wind of this…"

Ron's jaw dropped, "You wouldn't!"

Harry chuckled, "No, I know you'd come after me in my sleep."

"You're damn right I would," Ron grinned back at him. He stood, "We still on for dinner tonight?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Harry replied.

"I don't know, Harry, Hermione is cooking pot roast and her pot roast is always precarious," Ron said seriously. "But we'll see you at 7:30."

Harry nodded and Ron clapped him on the back before leaving his office to go back to work. He was a top Auror for the Ministry and although his reputation as a "Defeater of Evil" still remained, he actually enjoyed the more Detective-type qualities of his job, and this particular case was going to prove especially challenging due to the severe lack of information.

He paged through the case file again, reading more carefully this time. _At nine o'clock on Tuesday morning, a tourist found a middle-aged man stumbling around the Glastonbury Abbey. He was mumbling to himself. He was taken to the nearest hospital and identified as one Stephen Yamato, a professor of Oriental Studies at the University of Oxford. He was held for observation until Thursday, when he was released from the hospital. He has no memory of how he got to Glastonbury at all, and would occasionally fall into a trance, shouting, "It's a light in the dark places!" and "I don't have it! I don't know what you're talking about!" _

Harry tapped the folder thoughtfully. 'Why'd they hand this over to the Aurors?' he wondered. Normally this kind of thing would have fallen under Muggle Law Enforcement, as it dealt with a muggle and there were no overt signs of magic. He flipped over to the next page and noticed a small handwritten note from a wizard friend of his in the police precinct who'd handled the case – "Yamato practically wreaked of dark magic – we didn't know whom else to send this to."

'Odd,' he thought. A sense of uneasiness settled in his stomach. 'There have been no real attempts at harming muggles since the war.' There hadn't really been any attempts by any dark wizards to do much of anything since the war ended ten years ago. There were pockets here and there, but most were too afraid to come out and directly attack anyone before.

And why this obscure professor from Oxford? He turned back to the first page of the report; "It's a light in dark places!" he'd screamed in the hospital.

'What's a light in dark places?' Harry frowned. 'A flashlight? No, it couldn't possibly be that simple.' According to the note that came with the case file, the man had clearly been touched by dark magic – but why?

'Maybe it had something to do with this light thing,' Harry thought. He sighed, and glanced at the clock – it was nearing 7:00 so he decided to run home for a quick shower before heading over to the Weasley's.

He quickly gathered his things and apparated home, managed to shower _and_ remember the bottle of wine he was supposed to bring to dinner before 7:30. He glanced in the mirror frowned at his messy black hair – he'd long ago given up hope that it would ever do anything he wanted it to – and apparated again to the front stoop of the Weasley flat.

Through the door he heard muffled voices that seemed to be arguing. Harry chuckled to himself – some things just never get old. He was about to ring the doorbell, when he realized the door was already slightly ajar.

He opened the door and was greeted by the sight of Hermione, standing in her full glory, bushy brown hair flying, cinnamon eyes flashing with disgust at her husband.

Harry quickly looked at Ron who stricken, mouthed, "Help me!" Harry couldn't help but laugh, green eyes dancing with merriment.

"Should I come back another time, then?" he asked.

Hermione's head snapped up to look at Harry and she immediately softened and went to hug him. Harry hugged her back but managed to look up at Ron over Hermione's shoulder in time to catch him whisper, "Thanks, mate, I think she might have actually killed me that time."

He grinned as Hermione pulled away to give him a friendly kiss on the cheek.

"It's been ages since I saw you last!" she exclaimed.

"It hasn't been that long, Hermione. I saw you two weeks ago for lunch, remember?"

"I know, but I feel like I hardly ever get to see you anymore because of work," she said.

"How is being a diplomat?" Harry asked as he sat down at the kitchen table.

"Bloody awful," she replied sullenly as she sat down across from him, sipping her glass of wine. "I actually have to be _nice_ to Malfoy. The stupid git works in my office now."

Harry and Ron grimaced. Thankfully their work dealt only with catching gits like Malfoy while Hermione – ever the verbally adept one – played nice with them until they did something stupid and got themselves caught.

Hermione regaled Harry and Ron with tales of the office for the rest of dinner while Harry and Ron would take turns telling Hermione of all the silly things the new recruits would do and how on occasion they would fall all over themselves when they met Harry for the first time.

The sounds of laughter filled the flat for hours, as the three friends sat reminiscing about school and their jobs. Ron eventually broke out the sonograms (Hermione had forced him to take her to a muggle doctor so they could have the pictures) and proceeded to show them off to Harry while Hermione just sighed, looking exasperated, but Harry knew she secretly thrilled.

Eventually they all settled in the living room with their coffees, and the talk quickly turned to current events and what was going on with their former classmates.

"I saw Ginny the other day, she showed off the ring Neville brought her…" Hermione started.

"What?" Ron cried. "You meant to tell me that my little sister is engaged and she hasn't even bothered to tell her older brother?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, and looked to Harry briefly before she noticed he was looking a bit uncomfortable. Her eyes widened as she realized, "Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry."

He sighed. "It was over a long time ago, Hermione. I was too wrapped up in work and she was unhappy. We parted friends."

Hermione bit her bottom lip, but nodded and Ron gave him a half-hearted smile. "You'll find somebody, mate, I'm sure of it."

Harry shrugged and was suddenly excruciatingly jealous of his friends. They had stayed friends even through Ron and Hermione's tumultuous relationship all through sixth and seventh year, and their friendship had never wavered. Harry had been Ron's best man at their wedding, and Ron had already informed him that if they ever had children, Harry would be their godfather.

The last woman he had dated was Ginny, lasting only a few months and it had ended over two years ago. Ginny, he had to admit, had been his last hope. He thought she would have been able to understand him, but in the end, she had her own demons to fight and had left him like all the others.

He watched Ron and Hermione as she cuddled up to him on the couch and her husband unconsciously put an arm around her and silently prayed that maybe he would be able to find that one day.

'Fat chance,' he thought. 'It's part of the curse of being the Boy-Who-Lived-Twice.' Harry frowned, but was broken out of his reverie by Hermione waving a hand in his face and saying, "Earth to Harry…"

He blinked and looked up at her with a lopsided grin. "I'm sorry. Must have spaced out for a second. What were we talking about again?"

"I was telling you guys about the rumors flying around the Ministry office the past few weeks about some of the leftover Death Eaters, since you know, you guys are Aurors and everything," Hermione sniffed primly, somewhat annoyed that Harry hadn't been listening, but continued with her story anyway. "Word is that there's some special device or object or something with extremely powerful magical properties that the few remaining Death Eaters are drooling over."

Harry knit his brows together. "What kind of magical object?" he asked.

"Apparently all it seems to do is magnify the user's power – up to 100 fold – but no one has ever heard of it before or knows where it comes from. It's supposed to be legendary, but I've certainly never heard of it," Hermione said.

"And if our Hermione hasn't heard of it, then it certainly is obscure," Ron quipped, smiling at his wife.

Hermione smacked him lightly on the arm before giving him an affectionate peck on the cheek. "It might be something you want to check out, Harry. If this thing is real, it could really cause some trouble for you guys."

Harry nodded. Anything that could help the Death Eaters was bad, but increasing power up to 100 fold was insane and shouldn't be in anyone's hands, much less Death Eaters.

Hermione tapped her chin. "I wonder…" she began, "If my classes can help?"

Harry looked at her, confusion written all over his face. "Hermione, we stopped taking classes when we graduated ten years ago."

Hermione looked like she was about to give an irritated reply, but Ron beat her to it.

"She is taking classes on mythology at the University of London to 'see magic from a muggle perspective.' Something about improving relations with the Muggle branches of the Ministry," he said, trying to suppress a grin and failing miserably.

Hermione scowled as Harry chuckled. "It's not funny!" she said, annoyed. "I'm taking a wonderful class on Japanese Folklore and Legends with a brilliant professor. In fact, I have the highest marks in the class and the Professor is quite fond of me," she informed them smugly.

Ron growled a bit, "I don't need to go have a talking to with this professor do I?"

Now it was Hermione's turn to laugh. "Unless you have a problem with me going out to coffee with _her_ to discuss my papers, then no, you daft git," she giggled.

Ron flushed immediately. He quickly kissed the top of her head and muttered an apology and Hermione hugged him to assure him that he'd been forgiven.

"In any case," she continued, "This whole mess with the Death Eaters sounds like something out of the legends we've been reading in class – maybe you should stop by and meet the Professor, Harry. Maybe she could at least point you in the right direction."

Harry turned to Ron, "Well, you're the Base Operator, Ron. Do I have leave to escort your wife to class someday this week?"

Ron pondered this for a moment. "That other case I gave you this afternoon isn't going anywhere?" he asked.

"No, unfortunately not. There's just not a whole lot of information to go off of until I can get up to Oxford and actually interview the guy, but from the report it was pretty clear that he had no idea how he ended up where he was," Harry replied, sinking back into the overstuffed armchair.

"I don't see why not. Just take an extra long lunch."

Harry looked back over at Hermione who was yawning sleepily. "When is your next class?"

"Tomorrow afternoon at 2:00. How about we meet at that cute Soup and Salad place just outside the main quad for lunch beforehand?" She thought for a minute. "You might want to bring pen and paper and just tell her you're a grad student or are a visiting relative of mine or something. She wouldn't understand why the Ministry is interested in a Japanese legend."

Harry concurred and yawned himself. "I should get going," he said as he stood up to leave. "Thank you both so much for dinner. We should definitely start doing this more often."

Hermione smiled and hugged him warmly. "Definitely," she said. "I'll see you tomorrow then, for lunch?"

He smiled and nodded.

"See you at work tomorrow, Harry," Ron said and waved goodbye as Harry stepped out the door and into the cool night.

Thoughts of Death Eaters with abnormally strong powers and the strange incident with the Oxford Professor haunted his thoughts the rest of the walk home. Another sense of uneasiness settled around him again like it had earlier that afternoon in the office. Something strange was happening, and he was determined to figure out what it was.


	4. Chapter 2: Connection

**(A/N)**: Thanks so much for all of the great reviews guys! I really appreciate all of them. I was hoping that people wouldn't mind a crossover too much, but the idea of a Harry/Kagome couple was just too good to pass up (and yes, it is definitely a H/K story). The plot last chapter was pretty obvious, but more twists are coming up, so enjoy this installment!

And a special thanks to my beta readers Nagia and FieryFaery!

**Light in Dark Places**

By: Eilan-san

ooo

Chapter 2: Connection

_"There's something about you,_

_It's just the way you move;_

_The way you move me._

_--John Mayer, "Back to You"_

ooo

The morning crept by agonizingly slow for Harry until he finally looked up from the mess of papers that covered his desk and sighed with relief when he saw that it was time for his lunch date with Hermione.

The Yamato case was going absolutely nowhere and it frustrated the hell out of him. The case file, which had only comprised of four rolls of parchment, now comprised of six. The interview he'd conducted that morning was completely worthless.

Professor Yamato not only had no memory of how he arrived at Glastonbury, but there were also hours missing in his schedule. He'd been at a student bar near the campus until near midnight, and then began the short walk back to his apartment, but he never made it. The next thing he remembered was being found by some American tourists at the Glastonbury Abbey.

And to Harry's dismay, there was absolutely nothing remarkable about the professor. He was ethnically Japanese, but was born and raised in Manchester. He graduated with a PhD in Asian Literature from Cambridge in 1984 and taught at the University of Bristol until 1998 when he was offered a full professorship at the University of Oxford where he taught Literature, Mythology, Culture and Art classes for the Department of Oriental Studies and up until that fateful morning, he'd never even been to Glastonbury.

He sighed and began to gather his things so he could go meet Hermione before her class. The Ministry of Magic building was not that far away from the University, perhaps a ten-minute walk and he found the main quad with relative ease.

He stood on the sidewalk surrounding the green lawn watching students roam across the grass, chatting about quantum mechanics and Chaucer while otherssat in the shade reading. A frisbee game going on at the other end of the quad in the warm April afternoon. It was amazing that this beautiful park existed in the middle of the city.

He knew the café Hermione had indicated the night before was on the street adjacent to the quad, so he slowly meandered over to the small street lined with shops and enjoyed the warm weather, the sense of uneasiness that had plagued him since yesterday subsiding for the moment.

He found the café and sat down on a bench outside it to wait for her. He couldn't even remember why he had even agreed to come with her. How was her class on Japanese mythology going to help him find a power source for Death Eaters? Surely he would have heard of this object thing from the Japanese Ministry of Magic if they were concerned about it.

'But maybe that is the whole point,' Harry thought. 'They don't know about it. And that's why it's so dangerous.' But that didn't make sense either. Every magical object, creature, spell and ability had been catalogued and documented as far as he knew.

Icy fingers inched their way through his system and wrapped around him as his eyes widened in comprehension. If that was true – that this was a completely new and unknown magical object – he was dealing with an entirely new animal here, one that the majority of the wizarding world was completely unequipped to deal with.

A voice calling his name broke him out of his thoughts, he turned towards it and saw Hermione walking towards him waving wildly. He smiled and greeted her with a friendly hug.

The moment he walked into the restaurant he understood why Hermione had asked to go there – it was something she would have loved. The menu offered fresh soups, salads and sandwiches of all kinds and the air was laced with the smell of freshly baked bread. They each ordered their lunches and sat outside on the patio.

"I'm so glad you could make it today, Harry," she said, smiling warmly as she poured dressing over her Caesar salad. "This class is particularly interesting for me – magic for us is completely different than the kind of magic that the Shinto religion is based on, if you believe it exists. It's almost more of a spiritual energy that can be manipulated by the priestesses and priests than actual magic."

Harry nodded and took a sip of his soup as Hermione continued, "Although no one has seen an actual priest or priestess use the purification magic in almost three hundred years. As people slowly stopped having faith in the gods that the clergy worshipped, the magic dwindled until now there's almost no trace of it left."

Harry cocked an eyebrow at her. "And where did you learn all this? I'm sure your muggle professor didn't tell you about it," he teased.

"It's me, Harry, where else?" she asked, grinning at him.

"The library," the both answered at the same time.

Hermione giggled, "You'd be surprised at the sheer amount of magical reading material in the Ministry library. I think they've documented every possible occurrence of anything that had to do with magic."

"So why am I attending this class again?" Harry asked.

"Er… well, there are actually two reasons. The first being that the lecture we're covering today happens to be about a legendary object that is the professor's specialty that seems to have similar properties as the one you were telling me about last night," she replied.

She paused for a moment, blushing madly and staring at her hands and Harry suddenly realized that perhaps the reason she wanted him to come wasn't because of business and he groaned.

"You're not trying to set me up again, are you? One of your classmates or something?" he asked.

Hermione turned even brighter red. "Er, no. Not exactly."

Harry glared at her. "Who then?"

"The professor," she answered meekly. "Don't be angry!"

He hung his head in his hands and sighed, signaling his defeat. She always won anyway, even if they usually turned out to be disasters. "You never give up do you?"

"You know I don't," she said seriously as she took his hands in her own. "I just want you to be happy, Harry. I want you to find someone and be as happy as you deserve to be."

He gave her a half-hearted smile. He seriously doubted that it was even possible to have as happy a love life as Ron and Hermoine's, but if it made her happy to play matchmaker, a date or two couldn't kill him.

"I just wanted you to meet her, Harry. She's really very sweet and bloody brilliant and if you got on, I think it would be fantastic." Hermione quickly glanced at her wristwatch, "And if we don't get there in the next ten minutes she'll have our heads for being late, let's go."

They quickly made their way to the building that housed the East Asia and African Languages Department and Hermione led him to the lecture hall.

Harry had never been in a muggle university before, but it wasn't all that different from Hogwarts, really. The building was newer, and a bit cleaner but didn't have the, for lack of a better term, magical atmosphere that he had loved so much about Hogwarts. He and Hermione took seats in the middle of the hall and got out their note-taking supplies.

The professor hadn't arrived yet and students were still trickling in. Harry was surprised to find he was a bit nervous, and he had to remind himself that he wasn't actually a student, so he couldn't get in trouble if he hadn't finished his homework

He heard a brief commotion and looked up to see a strangely familiar face staring back at him. Their eyes locked and Harry _knew_ he had seen her before but couldn't remember where. Her eyes narrowed as if she was trying to place him as well and he fidgeted under the intensity of her gaze.

His hand was already moving to matt down his hair so it covered his scar before he caught himself.

'Stupid! It's not like she knows it's there or anything!' he scolded himself.

Hermione turned to him sharply and hissed, "That's the Professor, Harry, stop looking at her like she's grown a third head!"

Harry shrugged and pretended his blank paper was extremely interesting and tried to hide his burning cheeks from both this woman and Hermione. He could still feel the Professor's gaze on him, although less intense. Eventually he felt her get distracted and he decided it was safe to raise his head again.

He felt like a blithering idiot. Who _was _this woman? And why did he suddenly feel like he was fifteen and sharing his extremely awkward first kiss with Cho Chang all over again?

He saw her glance at the clock and survey the room. Apparently satisfied with the attendance, she perched herself on the desk at the front of the room. She smiled and addressed the class, "_Konnichi wa_."

Harry watched as the entire class, including Hermione, repeat back to her in complete unison, "_Konnichi wa, Higurashi-sensei_."

He leaned over to Hermione and whispered desperately, "Please tell me this class is taught in English."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course it's taught in English, Harry. It is a tradition in Japan for the professor to greet his or her students before class begins and for the students to respond in kind. She kept the tradition and taught us how to properly greet her in Japanese."

Harry was flooded with relief. "Thank Merlin," he muttered under his breath as he turned his attention to the now standing professor at the front of the room. She cleared her throat before launching into her lecture.

"The legend of the _shikon no tama,_" she began, "is about 500 years old and unfortunately for you all, you are going to hear the same story that I heard from my grandfather every day of my life until I was fifteen."

"The _shikon no tama_, or the Jewel of Four Souls, was actually the talisman of my family shrine in Tokyo. If you want a plastic version that's attached to a badly manufactured keychain, I'm sure my Jii-chan would be more than happy to oblige. Just don't get him started about any of the other traditions he knows about, you'll never get out of there." She paused and smiled, glancing quickly around the class as they tittered.

"Last class we covered the basics of the Shinto religion and the concept of a _miko_, or shrine maiden in folklore in addition to their antithesis, that of the _youkai. _Unfortunately, English-speaking scholars seem to have decided to translate _youkai_ as "demon," which is somewhat incorrect. Although 'being with supernatural powers with tendencies to use their powers for evil' also applies to demons, the traditional Christian ideal of what a demon is does not apply here."

Harry thought he noticed a mild smirk on her face, but any trace of it quickly vanished as she walked toward the chalkboard and wrote out three words in what appeared to be Japanese calligraphy.

"The legend of the _shikon no tama _tells of a_ miko_," she pointed to the first word, "and a _hanyou_, a half demon," she gestured towards the third word. "But before our story begins, there was another _miko." _

Hermione was frantically trying to copy down the kanji, but was getting frustrated by the intricacies of the marks. Harry grinned and shook his head, 'Always a perfectionist.' He looked up and caught the professor looking at him again. He smiled, and she looked at him, then at Hermione, who was still frantically trying to draw the kanji as perfectly as she could, then back at him.

She smiled back, "Don't worry about trying to copy down the kanji. It's not only difficult, but considered improper to write it down in the incorrect way. It won't be on the test, so don't worry about it." She looked back at Harry and winked before continuing with her lecture.

She told the story of how the Jewel came to be and the battle of the great _miko_ Midoriko and of the _youkai_ she fought and how the Jewel passed from hand to hand, human to _youkai _and back again, and of how the battle that continues to rage on inside the Jewel was influenced by whomever held it and the pureness of their heart.

"The four souls described as being inside the jewel are from the Shinto philosophy of Naobi: _Aramitama_, or courage, _Nigimitama_, or friendship, _Kushimitama_, or wisdom, and _Sakimitama_, or love. Midoriko, purportedly, had a positive balance of all four of these things inside her, and that is how she was able to create the jewel, and it is said to bestow immense power on anyone who holds it. But this is only the beginning of the main legend."

Harry was drawn in by the story of the _miko_ Kikyou who'd fallen in love with the _hanyou_ Inuyasha and her untimely death at the hands of a betrayer. He almost missed her face fall briefly as she mentioned how Kikyou sealed Inuyasha to the Sacred Tree and he looked at her with concern evident in his eyes. She caught his gaze and smiled slightly, as if to tell him that she was fine.

He immediately looked back down at his empty notebook, cheeks burning. 'What am I _doing?' _Harry asked himself. 'I'm completely nutters, having pretend conversations in my head with people I don't know.' That feeling of _knowing _her didn't go away as she lectured, either. In fact, it grew stronger. The more she spoke, the more he _knew _he knew her from somewhere.

The class grew restless and when her eyes flitted to the clock and she sighed. "Alright, we'll have to continue the rest next class. Read the articles I assigned and remember that your term papers are due in three weeks, so I need your annotated bibliographies as soon as possible."

Harry began to pack away his notes (not that he'd taken any, he'd been too engrossed in the story to actually write anything down) and glanced at Hermione. She grinned at him and whispered conspiratorially, "I'll let you borrow my notes."

"Thanks," Harry replied quickly. Something had caught his eye… _A yellow backpack!_ He suddenly remembered exactly where he knew her.

"Come on! I want you to meet her," Hermione said, dragging him up towards the front of the room. Harry allowed himself to be lead up to the professor by the hand, but when she _(What is her _name?) turned around to face him he was grinning broadly and she was grinning right back.

Hermione was about to make introductions when she noticed that they were both smiling like idiots at each other. She was about to ask why they were both smiling so much when Harry and her professor looked at each other and both said, "The Underground!" before bursting into uncontrollable laughter.

"Did I miss something?" Hermione cocked her eyebrow, slightly perturbed that her matchmaking plans had taken a different turn.

The professor turned to Hermione, managing to suppress her giggles enough to answer, said, "I have just spent the past hour trying to figure out why I knew your friend here, and apparently so has he."

Harry finally got a hold of himself as well, and in an amused voice said, "Yes, your dear professor quite literally ran into me while I was waiting for a train and knocked me clear over." He turned to the professor and pointed at her bookbag. "The yellow backpack was what made me remember. I've never seen a more worn out backpack than yours and I'm surprised it hasn't disintegrated already."

"Hey!" she said. "It has special meaning to me, don't make fun of it!" She squinted, "I don't remember your name."

Harry chuckled. "It's Harry, and I never actually told you my name, so don't feel too bad." His shoulders slumped, "I, however, have no such excuse. What's your name again?"

"Kagome," she replied, offering her hand.

"Well," Hermione said, crossing her arms. "I have another class I need to get to, so I'll let you two talk a bit." She turned to Harry and winked at him, "Dinner at our place again? Next Wednesday?"

Harry nodded, "That sounds great. Same time?"

"Sure," she replied. "Maybe I'll get Ron to cook this time."

"Good luck with that," he called as she tossed her book bag over her shoulder and walked out of the lecture hall leaving him with Kagome.

"Where do you know Hermione from?" she asked as she gathered her own papers and stuffed them into the ancient yellow backpack.

"Hermione and I went to school together in Scotland, along with her husband," he answered. "We've all been best friends since we were children." He paused. "I really enjoyed your lecture today."

"Good," she said. "I'm glad."

'Come on, Harry, pull yourself together. It's just a bloody woman.' He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He was sure that she hadn't covered the more important part of the legend in class and, now that he had thought about it, this _shikon no tama_ was sounding like it was the object he was after. He _had_ to find out the rest of the story.

"Tell me the rest of the story," he said. Her head snapped up, her coffee brown eyes peering at him incredulously as he rushed ahead. "I can't be here for your next class, and I'd really like to hear the rest."

'Well, _that_ was lame.'

Kagome checked her watch and shrugged. "I have time before my next class, so if you don't mind following me to my office, we can talk there. And if you really want to research more about the legend, I have some copies of papers you can read."

Although the idea of reading several academic papers didn't sound thrilling, he knew any information at this stage would be helpful, so he assented and walked across the quad to her office.

Her office was a lot like he expected: simple, a desk, two chairs and several bookshelves filled with old Japanese texts and binders full of articles. It smelt faintly of incense and green tea. Coffee mugs, papers and post-it notes littered her desk, and he couldn't help but smile. It looked just like his desk back at the Ministry.

He looked at the wall next to her desk and noticed a framed print and moved to get a closer look. It appeared to be a medieval Japanese print containing four characters – two women and two men. The first woman was in a white and red outfit and carried a bow and arrow, while the second was in some sort of armor and carried a boomerang on her back. The first man appeared to be a warrior, as he had a rather large sword, while the second a monk carrying a staff.

He felt Kagome behind him as he scrutinized the print. She pointed to the woman in red and white, "The main legend tells of a _miko_," she said, her voice low, then pointed to the man in red, "and a _hanyou._"

He looked at her, curiously as she sighed.

"50 years after the _miko_ Kikyou sealed the _hanyou _Inuyasha to the Sacred Tree, her reincarnation appeared," she began, sitting behind her desk and gesturing for him to the chair opposite her. "She dressed and spoke strangely, but when she was in danger, her voice woke Inuyasha up from the spell and it was she who eventually set him free. When Kikyou died she asked that the Jewel be burned with her body, and so when she was reborn into this new body, the Jewel was reborn inside her and released." She frowned at the words she spoke, but went on.

"Eventually, it was shattered and the vast majority of the rest of the legend tells about the _hanyou _and the reincarnation of the famous _miko _Kikyou running around Japan trying to find all of the pieces before another _youkai_ named Narakufinds them all and uses it for its own purposes. The Jewel was completed after the destruction of Naraku and the reincarnation of Kikyou disappeared shortly thereafter, leaving the _shikon no tama_ in the _hanyou_'s hands." She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, her eyes downcast.

"Who are the other two people in the print?" Harry asked softly.

"The woman with the armor was a _taijiya_ and the man in purple was a Buddhist monk. They were the _miko _and the _hanyou's_ traveling companions on the quest to complete the Jewel," she said with an air of sadness. "No one really knows what happened after that. All primary sources of the legend simply end there, so what happened afterward is up for scholarly debate."

Her eyes searched her desk until she located a stack of papers sitting on the edge of her desk next to her computer and handed it to Harry. "I did my doctoral thesis on this legend, you can keep that copy," she smiled ruefully. "I'll even autograph it for you if you want."

He looked up at her, surprised. 'Well, she's just a wellspring of information now, isn't she?' he thought.

"Oh!" she said suddenly as she leaped to her feet and walked quickly to one of her bookshelves. She quickly selected a dark blue, obviously very old text and handed it to him. "This is one of the best books on ancient Japanese legends available, and unfortunately it's out of print, so I better get that back."

'Youkai Monogatari: The Tale of the Demon,' he read. He scanned the rest of the cover, but was stunned when he read the name of the author. He could scarcely believe it, but there it was, plain as day: by Dr. Stephen Yamato.

"Dr. Yamato gave that to my family as a gift for allowing him access to all the historical documents at my family shrine. There's a brilliant chapter on my family's shrine and its connection to the legend of the _shikon no tama_," she informed him.

Harry's eyes widened with alarm. The people responsible for the attack on Yamato were the dark wizards rumored to be after a powerful magical object, and it was now clear that the object they were after was the _shikon no tama_.

He had to think quickly. "And there were no other mentions of the Jewel in later literature?" he asked cautiously.

"It is mentioned, but only in passing and as a thing of the past. It, along with the _miko_, disappeared," she replied, looking at him strangely. "Why?"

"Just curious," he said quickly. A piece of the puzzle was missing and his mind raced trying to figure it out. 'How on earth did these dark wizards even hear about this obscure Japanese legend?' he thought. He knew better than to question whether or not the legend could possibly be true – he'd learned that lesson his first year in school with regard to the Philosopher's Stone. The question at hand was did it ever actually exist, and if it did, where did it go?

Kagome cleared her throat, breaking Harry from his thoughts. "I have a class I need to prepare for," she said hastily.

"Oh!" he said, "I'm sorry, I'll let you go." Harry stood and gathered his briefcase and turned to leave.

"Wait, um…" she stammered, her eyes darting around the room nervously. "Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?"

Harry gaped. A woman had just asked him out on a date. "Yes," he said automatically.

She turned, hiding her face, "I mean, that is if you would like to know more about this, we can talk about it and…" She looked up at him with her brown eyes full of hope and he softened.

"What time?" he asked gently.

"How about 7:00? I know a great Italian place nearby called Trattoria Roman Gardens."

"I know the place," he said. It was one of his favorites. "See you there at 7:00, then?"

She nodded, "Sounds good." He gave her a lopsided grin before leaving the office and making his way to the main quad.

He was halfway to the street when he let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

'Hermione's never going to let me hear the end of this,' he thought ruefully. He needed to talk to her again anyway and find out more about Dr. Yamato, so this was the perfect opportunity.

'Then why do I feel like a teenager again?' he thought. 'Probably because I haven't been on a date since I _was_ a teenager.'

He was going to need help. Lots of help. He found an empty alley and quickly apparated to Ron and Hermione's.


	5. Chapter 3: Collision

**(A/N): **Chapter 4 is about half finished… it will be up soon. I will be in Kyoto, Japan from July 9-August 16, so story updates will be infrequent if at all. However, that doesn't mean I won't be working on it, which I will be. :o) If I don't update during my trip that means you'll probably get about two-three new chapters immediately upon my arrival.

For those that asked, it's more than likely that aside from Kagome other characters from Inuyasha will not be appearing as anything other than memories. You'll find out in a few chapters what happened to them all, but they probably won't be interacting with the Harry Potter people.

Thanks to my beta-reader FieryFaerie!

**Light in Dark Places**

By: Eilan-san

ooo

**_Chapter 3:__Collision_**

_Even the best fall down sometimes_

_Even the wrong words seem to rhyme_

_Out of the back you fall in time_

_Somehow find you and I collide. _

_--Howie Day, "Collide"_

ooo

She imagined Inuyasha, Kikyou, Naraku and all of her friends from Tokyo laughing at her. She was standing in front of a mirror, her hair completely disheveled, and half of her wardrobe strewn all over the floor of her bedroom.

'It's just _dinner_, for god sakes,' she thought.

'Not that you've been out with a guy since you were an undergraduate,' that little voice in the back of her head reminded her.

_Oh, shut up._

Frustrated with her clothes, she decided to shower. She'd barely gotten home in time to even get ready – one of her first year advisees had come to her for help on a paper and the meeting had lasted a good hour and a half after her last class. She lathered and rinsed her hair methodically and enjoyed the feel of the warm water against her skin.

It had taken her years to accept the fact that she was happy that she'd been sent back. There were times when she honestly could not have gone without a hot shower, or the ability to heat up her dinner in the microwave, or eat instant ramen. She belonged here, as loathe as she was to admit it.

It wasn't the _perfect_life, after all, here she was in a country where she couldn't even speak her primary language nearly as often as would have liked (although she was very happy she'd accepted the faculty advisor position of the Japanese club), but she was happy for the most part. It had been three months since she'd come to London, and she had finally started making friends.

Surprisingly, her first and best friend had been one of her students. Hermione Granger-Weasley was a non-traditional, non-degree seeking student, but she was incredibly bright and kind and it was nice to have a female to talk to. She knew Hermione was married to a man named Ron and had just discovered she was expecting their first child. Kagome had been amazed to find that their friendship outside of class never interfered with their in-class relationship – maybe it was because Hermione was auditing her class or something else – but when she was in class she was the most attentive student she'd ever had.

Kagome smiled to herself as she stepped out of the shower to dry off. It was all Hermione's fault that she was even going out tonight at all.

They had been out for their weekly coffee and girl talk at the local student hang out when Hermione had mentioned in a not-so-sly manner that there was an old school friend of Hermione's and her husband's that she wanted to set Kagome up with .

She'd never expected that it would bethat adorable man from the train station. At the time, she was livid when she realized that she hadn't remembered to ask him his name and had resolved that she would probably never see him again. But there he was, sitting in her class next to Hermione, listening to her drone on about Japanese legends and looking like he was desperately trying to place her for the entire class period. The memory made her smile.

His name, she discovered, was Harry. Of course the English could never have names that were easy for her to say; her accent was slowly disappearing, but R's and L's still gave her trouble.

He reminded her a bit of Inuyasha in an odd way, one she couldn't quite place. A bit guarded but with a good heart – thankfully he seemed slightly less angry at the world in general, which Inuyasha never seemed to be able to get over.

_Just got to watch out for those dead ex-girlfriends. _

She sighed. The jealousy still crept in every so often when she least expected it. But Harry was not Inuyasha, that she was sure of, and even if nothing else happened, she would have a new friend and that cheered her up considerably. London was ghastly boring without people to share it with.

She grabbed her favorite blue dress off of the pile of clothes on her bed and began to work on getting all the tangles out of her mass of black hair.

Forty-five minutes later she walked into the restaurant, pleased with her appearance. Kagome did not consider herself a classic beauty, but she did have the cute and petite Japanese woman thing going for her. Her thick, wavy black hair hung down nearly to her waist now, and the dress she wore was the color of the sky at twilight, and the cut was very flattering on her petite figure.

She saw Harry sitting at a table in the far corner of the restaurant, fidgeting and playing with his napkin, his own black hair looking strangely like hers did when she'd stepped out of the shower. She wondered if his hair was always like that. At least he seemed as unsure about this as she was. She inhaled deeply, steeled herself and walked towards him.

Harry jumped up as soon as he saw her, moving as quickly as he could to pull her chair out for her and take her coat before sitting down again.He was wearing a nice green shirt that matched his eyes and a pair of black slacks. 'Hermione certainly knows how to pick them,' she thought as she glanced over him.

"I only arrived a few minutes ago, so I haven't even ordered drinks yet," he said shyly as he sat back down across from her.

She smiled at him before asking for the wine list. The waiter came and took their drink orders, which turned out to be a glass of the house red wine for both of them and they were left in an awkward silence again.

Kagome briefly lifted her eyes and caught Harry's green-eyed gaze peering at her over his menu before he quickly shifted his eyes back downward.

After several more minutes of casting furtive glances in each other'sdirection, Kagome put her menu down, frustrated.

"We're being rather ridiculous, don't you think?" she said as Harry blushed.

"It's just been awhile since I've been out with a woman and it's a bid awkward for me," he said, scratching his head.

"Really?" she asked. "That surprises me."

Harry shrugged and pulled on his collar to loosen it a bit. "I usually don't have time for dating in my line of work," he responded. It was at least partially true.

"What do you do again?" she asked. "I don't think you ever really told me."

"I work for the Ministry," he replied. "I work in the Law Enforcement division."

"Law Enforcement? So you're a police officer then?"

"More like a detective, but yes." He paused. He cleared his throat, "Actually, you might be able to help me with a case I'm working on right now."

She cocked an eyebrow at him. 'Hermione, please tell me you didn't set me up so he could get information out of me.'

"Dr. Yamato, the author of that book you gave me earlier, was found in Glastonbury early last week wandering around aimlessly with no memory of how he got there," he said.

Her eyes went wide in horror. "What happened?"

"We don't know; that's what we're trying to figure out. Best we can tell is that someone did something to him and dropped him off there and altered his memory."

She knew Dr. Yamato, looked up to him as a mentor and respected him as a professional colleague, but that's all he was, another Historian like herself, of no use to anyone for any criminal purpose. "But who would do such a thing?"

Harry gazed at her intently over his glasses, as if deciding whether or not to answer her question truthfully or not. Seeming to come to a decision, he said quietly, "We think that he had some sort of information that the people who attacked him wanted." He leaned towards her, "Do you have any idea as to what kind of information he would have had that other people would have wanted?"

Kagome shook her head. "I knew him professionally, and that was about it," she replied as the waiter returned to take their orders.

The waiter came and they surprised themselves by ordering the same thing again and laughed in spite of themselves.

"Maybe Hermione was right in setting us up," Kagome said, grinning.

Harry smirked, "Good, at least I wasn't the only pawn in her matchmaking games."

She laughed, "Hardly, it was 'Harry this' and 'Harry that' and 'You'll love him, he's sweet and bright and funny and I'd just love it if you two got on.'"

"Glad I wasn't the only recipient of that line," Harry said, amusement dancing in his eyes. He leaned in towards her again and whispered conspiratorially, "How am I doing on that anyway?"

"Brilliantly," she said, still smiling.

The rest of dinner went smoothly, filled with good conversation and plenty of laughter. For the first time in a very long time, Kagome felt like she could be herself. Harry peppered her with questions about her childhood and living in Japan and she returned the favor by demanding blackmail material on Hermione. She was enthralled by the pranks Ron and Harry managed to pull on Hermione while they'd been at school together.

She frowned when the waiter appeared with the check, signaling that her evening was coming to an end. She pulled out her purse to pay for her half but Harry stopped her.

"You can pay next time," he said, winking at her.

She flushed, cheeks burning.

"Aww," he teased, "You look so pretty when you're blushing." Which, of course, made her blush more.

He helped her into her coat and offered her his arm, which she gladly took, and walked out into the cool night air. They walked amiably for a while, just taking in the streets of London and enjoying each other's company.

Kagome couldn't deny the obvious mutual attraction, but more than that she just enjoyed talking to him. He seemed so _nice_, but not in the overbearing nice way that Houjou had been. Harry was just… Harry. She wasn't falling all over herself like she had been with Inuyasha for so long, and there was more of a connection between them than she had ever felt with anyone she'd dated in college.

And there was just something about those wire rim glasses combined with the messy hair that gave him a charming, boyish look. It was hard not to sigh happily when he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and drew her in closer to him as they walked.

When they reached her apartment building she glanced up at him and smiled, "Thank you for a wonderful evening, Harry."

"You're welcome," he said gently. "I had a good time too."

"Maybe we could get together again?" she asked hopefully.

He nodded, eyes shining in the moonlight. She felt her heart pound against her ribs as he leaned into her, his hands resting on her hips. Her eyes fluttered close, and she tilted her head up towards him, waiting with bated breath for the feel of his lips against hers.

"Well, well, well," a voice said, dripping with sarcasm.

Kagome jumped away from Harry as he whipped around to see a man in a dark cloak emerge from the shadows, holding a stick level at Harry.

"I only came here for her, and I manage to meet the famous Harry Potter," he said. Kagome saw Harry's hand linger around his pants pocket. "And don't even think about going for your wand, Potter, you know full well you can't attack me with all these muggles around."

Kagome looked from one man to the other, utterly confused. Muggles? Wand? What the hell?

"What do you want with her?" Harry growled as he stepped in front of Kagome, hand still hovering next to his pants pocket.

"Just to talk. It seems that Professor Higurashi here knows the location of an object my boss is most anxious to get his hands on," the man replied with a sinister grin.

"And who exactly would that be?" Harry asked.

What the hell? And how did this man know Harry?

"No one you need concern yourself about," the man retorted. He saw Kagome inch towards Harry and sneered, "Consorting with muggles now, Mr. Potter? That's worse than associating with mudbloods."

A look of raw fury erupted on Harry's face as he drew his own stick out of his pocketand for a moment Kagome was actually frightened of him.

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and softened briefly, "Stay behind me, I'll protect you."

Her mind reeled. She had seen some strange things in her lifetime, but this was just utterly bizarre. The sense of déjà vu combined with the surreality that some madman was after her for information she didn't know she had _and _the fact that their attacker actually knew who Harry was overwhelmed her.

But, déjà vu works both ways. "What do you want with me?" she asked, feeling her long-dormant bravery return.

"Oh, so she can talk," the man snickered.

Her eyes narrowed and calmly and forcefully repeated herself, "What do you want with me?"

His eyes flitted between Harry and Kagome, and his gaze eventually settled on her. "_Accio Kagome_!" he cried. Kagome didn't even register what was happening before she found herself hurtling through the air towards their attacker.

Harry cursed himself for hesitating, 'This is not the time to be worrying about the Muggle Secrecy Statutes!'

"_Expelliarmus_!" He didn't have even have time to react before he heard his wand land several meters away in the other man's palm. 'This isn't going to end well,' he thought.

Kagome, completely frustrated by the whole situation, shrieked, "What in the bloody hell is going on here! Who in the hell are you and why do you both keep screaming in pseudo-Latin? How do you know my name? And what's with the sticks!"

Their attacker turned on her and hissed, "_Immobulus_!" and Kagome fell silent, completely unable to move. She screamed inside at the familiar sensation of being frozen. She watched his attention move back and forth between her, her captor, and what she decided must have been his wand.

Her captor saw this, "Don't even think about it, Potter. The Killing Curse probably won't work on _you_, since you are The-Boy-Who-Lived, after all." He paused briefly and Harry watched in horror as the man moved his wand from him to Kagome with a sinister smile, "but I'm sure it'll work fine on _her_."

Understanding the threat, Harry slowly lifted his hands in surrender and stood very still. The attacker kept his wand leveled at Kagome and he didn't want to make any sudden movements.

"I am going to unfreeze you, but you are not to do anything other than answer my questions, do you understand?"

Kagome would have nodded if she could, but he seemed to understand that she agreed to his terms by the sheer panic in her eyes. Even if she didn't know what exactly the Killing Curse did, the name was enough for her to know that he meant business.

"Good then. _Finite Incantatem._" Kagome was flooded with relief as she regained control of her body but the man still had his wand pointed at her and she tried to be as still as possible.

"Madam Higurashi, I understand that you are an expert on an item known as the Jewel of Four Souls," he said. "Because I work for someone who is terribly interested in this item, I was asked to find out what you know of it, and you _will_ answer my questions. Are we clear?"

She nodded.

"Where is it?" he asked.

She couldn't help it, she snorted. "What do you mean where is it? I don't know."

His beady eyes narrowed. "Where is it?" he repeated.

"It's just a legend, a myth," she said incredulously. She knew that that wasn't true, but she hadn't seen it in five hundred years anyway, and all the primary sources she'd studied had said that it had simply disappeared.

A nasty smile crept onto the man's face. "Oh no, my dear, we know for a fact that you know that isn't so."

Kagome had the good grace to blush and quickly glanced at Harry, who was staring at her, clearly confused. She took a deep breath – she didn't know how much this man knew, so she took a leap of faith and told him what Historian-Kagome knew instead of what Miko-Kagome knew.

"I honestly don't know where it is. Our primary texts tell us that it has not been seen in over five hundred years," she said, biting her bottom lip and praying to high heaven that he would accept that answer.

The man frowned. "Your colleague, Dr. Yamato seemed to think that you know more than you're telling," he said cautiously.

Kagome gasped, anger flashing on her face, "You're the one that hurt him? You bastard, he was a nice man and he didn't deserve that!"

She saw Harry's jaw drop in her peripheral vision. 'Yeah, well, I've been in more dangerous situations than this, shot my mouth off and lived to tell about it,' she thought wryly.

Gritting her teeth, she said, "I don't know where it is now. And even if I did, I certainly wouldn't help _you_ find it."

He studied her very carefully with a knowing look, as if she had just said something very important. "Yes," he said at last. "But you know where it was _before_, don't you?"

She didn't have time to respond because Harry was already running towards her screaming at her to get out of the way.

"_Accio wand!_" he cried as his wand flew into his outstretched hand and pointed it at the attacker.

He only laughed at them, "I'll be back for her," before he vanished with a pop.

Kagome sank to her knees; exhausted, confused and panting heavily. Harry knelt beside her checking her for any damage as she cradled her head in her hands. The power of the moment overwhelmed her and the last thing she remembered was Harry's concerned eyes and the warmth of his arms around her as she collapsed into him.

"Dammit," he muttered. Making a quick decision, he scooped her up into his arms and walked out of the alley. Thankfully Ron and Hermione's flat was nearby and they would be safe there for the time being.

'I'm going to have so much explaining to do when she wakes up,' he thought grimly. 'And things were going so well too.'


	6. Chapter 4: Impact

**(A/N): **I will be back from Japan in less than a week, but I thought I would be nice and post this now that I have found an internet connection. So, I come bearing a new chapter, another on the way soon and a _thirty-page_ outline of the entire story. Updates should come up a bit quicker now, assuming school doesn't get in the way too much. :o) Happy reading and comments are always appreciated!

Thanks to my beta, FieryFaerie, because lord knows I wouldn't be able to do this without her:o)

**Light in Dark Places**

By: Eilan-san

ooo

**_Chapter 4: Impact_**

_Someday, love will find me in the rough._

_Someday, love will finally be enough._

_--Anna Nalick, "In the Rough"_

ooo

She would have thought that the "Ministry of Magic" would have had, oh, more interesting décor, but she was currently in a very dull, white room, sitting in an incredibly uncomfortable chair while she attempted to keep her anger from boiling over and scalding everyone within reach.

To say it had been an interesting night would be the understatement of the year.

She'd woken up on a strange couch in a flat she didn't recognize, after being attacked by a dark wizard, not that she'd even known that witches and wizards existed prior to six, wait, make that seven hours ago.

Hermione attempted to help her sit up and handed her a glass of water and two aspirin, which she gratefully took. She'd been informed that she was in the home of Hermione and her husband Ron, who were a witch and wizard respectively, and that Harry was also a wizard and they would be taking her to the Ministry of Magic - _They have an entire section of the government for these people?_ - for a proper introduction as soon as she felt well enough to go.

And here she was, at bloody four in the morning, her mind still reeling from the video-type thing she'd sat through, which had explained "everything she'd ever need to know about the wizarding world," and waiting for Harry and Hermione to return with the proper authorities so she could be completely indoctrinated. The splitting headache she had acquired in the last hour certainly wasn't improving her mood.

Ron was currently sitting nearby, waiting with her until his friend returned with the Chief of the Auror Division, although what exactly the 'Auror Division' was, she hadn't been told. Ron shot her a sheepish smile. "Been a rough night, huh?"

She stifled a yawn. "Roughest in a long time," she answered truthfully. 'All the weird stuff has to happen to me,' she thought ruefully. "Is it really cold in here, or is it just me?"

She saw his gaze flicker towards the door, and seeing no one there, he leaned towards her as he pulled out his wand and whispered, "Promise not to tell?"

She nodded and he whispered a few words and suddenly two warm beer bottles appeared on the table in front of her.

He got up and opened both before handing one to her. "We're not supposed to do magic in front of muggles until you've been completely brought up to speed." He saw her study the bottle, and smiled. "It's called butterbeer. It's really quite good," he said.

She sipped it slowly and smiled as the warmth of the liquid spread through her body. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said, reclining bonelessly in his chair. "It's the least I could do – I feel kind of responsible for bringing you in here at four in the bloody morning just to talk to my boss."

She laughed in spite of herself. "Well, maybe you can make it up to me some time."

The door to the room suddenly swung open revealing a short woman with long dark hair, Harry, Hermione and a few other people Kagome didn't recognize trailing behind her. Ron jumped to attention and saluted.

Kagome shrank back as the woman scrutinized her before returning Ron's salute. She was surprised as the woman's stern face melt into a grin.

"Wotcher, Ron," she said.

"Hey, Tonks," he replied, smiling. "I really wish you'd stick to one look for the office."

Tonks laughed. "But it's so much more fun this way," she said cheerfully.

Ron turned to Kagome, "Let me introduce you to Harry's and my boss, Chief Nymphadora Tonks, head of the Auror Division for the Ministry of Magic. And just so you know, if you ever call her anything other than Tonks, such as Nymphadora or Mrs. Lupin, you will probably regret it." Tonks smiled sheepishly. "Otherwise she's one of the nicest human beings you'll ever meet," Ron concluded cheerfully.

Tonks directed her gaze towards Kagome. "Professor Higurashi, do you know what a muggle is?" she asked gently. Kagome nodded.

"Are you a muggle, then?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Right then. I understand that you were attacked by a wizard tonight because he was looking for information that you supposedly had about a powerful magical object. Would you care to tell us about it?" Suddenly everyone in the room turned and looked at her expectantly, save Harry who stood against the wall and refused to meet her eyes.

All of the cheerfulness she had felt earlier with Ron completely dissipated. She had half a mind to tell these people to bugger off, all she wanted were answers as to what the hell happened to her in the past twenty four hours and now they expected her to clue _them_ in? Not a chance.

She narrowed her eyes at Tonks and was about to tell her she wasn't saying anything until someone explained to her what was going on when she felt a hand on her arm. Hermione smiled at her kindly, "It's alright, Kagome. Just tell her what you know."

Kagome sighed, suppressing her irritation, and relayed the story about the attack. She paused occasionally for Harry to pipe up every so often to help with the details, but he continued to stand against the wall, appearing for all the world like he didn't know her and didn't care. Where was the man she'd gone to dinner with? By the end of her story, she was nearly convinced that these wizards had kidnapped him and replaced him this strange being.

"And the next thing I remember was waking up in Ron and Hermione's apartment," she said, glancing around the room. The residents of the room looked even more bewildered than she felt, and that was saying something.

Tonks looked at Harry, "Do you think this has anything to do with the rumors about what the Death Eaters were looking for?"

"Yes, I do. I also believe this is connected to the Yamato attack, as he is a professional colleague of Professor Higurashi," he answered stiffly, still refusing to meet Kagome's questioning stare.

Tonks seemed to consider this briefly, "Alright then, as soon as we're finished here, and if Professor Higurashi agrees, I would like to place her under the protection of the Ministry of Magic. She will need an Auror bodyguard to ensure her safety."

"What exactly is an Auror?" Kagome interrupted, annoyed and wanting answers to _her_ questions.

"Harry and Ron are both Aurors, they investigate dark wizards and objects. Kind of like police officers or detectives," Hermione piped up. "Ron is the base operator for the division – he handles all of the information and assigns cases to the Aurors. Harry is a field agent, and both the Yamato case and the _Shikon no Tama_ case were assigned to him last week."

Kagome frowned.

"That's why he was in your class that day… Hermione thought that the _shikon no tama_ was the object the dark wizards were after, and asked him to attend your lecture," Ron added. "And after last night, there is no doubt that they are after the Jewel, and they seem to think you know where it is."

"Kagome has the most knowledge of anyone in the area of the Jewel, aside from our dear Professor Yamato, and since he is currently indisposed due to his attack, we will need her help to locate and eradicate this Jewel before any Death Eaters find it," Tonks observed.

Kagome saw Ron glare at Harry. It seems she wasn't the only one noticing his odd behavior. "Assign Harry to the protective detail, Chief," Ron said. "He and Kagome can investigate this together. He doesn't have any other open cases, so he's free."

Harry's head snapped up immediately, eyes wide with something that looked like fear. He was _scared _of her? "But – I, I shouldn't…" he sputtered.

"Brilliant idea, Ronald," said Tonks, completely ignoring Harry. "Harry, you are hereby assigned to be Professor Higurashi's bodyguard until the location of the _shikon no tama_ is discovered and the object destroyed and she is safe. She will assist you in the investigation to further it along as quickly as possible." Harry withered under her stare and began studying the floor, silently acquiescing to the situation.

Tears began to build in her eyes and her mind whirled with the events of the past twenty-four hours. Her first date in forever with what had seemedlike a nice guy, although now he appears to be just as big a prat as everyone else she'd ever dated, and now someone was after her over information about the _shikon no tama_… 'I thought it was over, dammit,' she thought. 'I don't want this anymore.'

Wiping her tears away angrily, she stood up with her jaw clenched and her fingernails digging into her palms, "When did I _ever_ say I would do any of this?" she asked tightly.

Everyone, including Harry, just stared at her blankly.

"I have been through hell and back tonight, I will have you know," her face ablaze. "Twenty four hours ago, I was not even aware that wizards and witches even existed, and now that a few of them have decided that I have information they want – which I don't actually have – you expect me to help you just like _that_?"

She rounded on Harry, "And you! You tricked me!" she cried. "All of that friendly crap was for your damned case! That's beyond low." Her eyes narrowed, "And how did he know who you were? Did you set that up or something?"

Harry's jaw dropped in shock and for the first time since she'd been brought to this god-forsaken building, he stared her straight in her eyes. For a moment, she thought that he might actually speak to her in his own defense, but to her disappointment Tonks answered for him.

"Professor Higurashi, I have known Harry a long time, and I do not believe Harry would have been out with you this evening for any other reason than that he enjoyed your company. The fact that the attack coincided with the case he was working on was just that: a coincidence," she said, her voice calm but austere. "And the fact of the matter is that _everyone_ in our world knows who Harry is. So obviously your attacker, who was undoubtedly a wizard, would have known Harry, but I seriously doubt Harry knew him."

"Why does everyone know Harry?" Kagome asked, still seething. She watched Harry close his eyes and pinch the bridge of his nose as if preparing for a blow.

"I'm not altogether surprised he didn't tell you. Your friend Harry is known as the Boy-Who-Lived," Tonks said quietly. "When Harry was a baby, he was attacked by a Dark Wizard named Voldemort, who was the most powerful dark wizard in a century. Voldemort had murdered Harry's parents before turning on Harry, but when he cast the Killing Curse on baby Harry, but it rebounded destroying him. To this day, Harry is still the only known wizard in the world who has survived that kind of a curse."

Tonks smiled tightly at Harry, "Unfortunately for us, Voldemort returned thirteen years ago and Harry discovered that he was prophesied to defeat him, and during his seventh year of school he vanquished the Dark Lord permanently."

Kagome's eyes burned into Harry, but he still refused to look at her. Slightly nerdy-looking Harry who had taken her out for dinner earlier that night had defeated the most powerful dark wizard in a century? There was no way. Absolutely no way.

But the more she looked at him, the more she could tell it was true. Not because of anyone else, but because she saw it – the feeling of death and despair was all over him. 'Why didn't I notice it before?' she thought miserably.

"He saved us all from a horrible fate, and even though he was and is still remiss with the details of exactly what happened, his history and the fact that he accomplished what no one was thought to be able to do gave him absolutely ridiculous amounts of publicity. Harry is probably the most famous wizard in the world now," Tonks said emphatically. "When I said everyone knew who he was, I did mean _everyone_."

Rejecting the feelings of pity that threatened to diminish her frustration with everyone in the room (especially Harry, who was standing in the corner looking like he just wanted to disappear into the floor), Kagome paused briefly and collected the remaining bits of her dignity. Squaring her shoulders, she said forcefully, "Regardless of what Harry is or isn't, it doesn't change the current situation or my feelings on the matter. Chief Tonks, it was nice to talk to you, but until you decide you want _my_ opinion on what happens to _me_, I will be at home. Good luck finding me," and stalked off down the hallway without looking behind her.

She quickly turned left down a dark hallway, but was shortly met with a dead end and the language that spilled out of her mouth would have made Inuyasha proud. She couldn't remember how she got into this damned building, much less how to get out of it.

She sank down against one of the cold walls and cradled her head in her hands. Why couldn't it just be _over_?

'I did what you wanted me to do! What else could you possibly want from me?' she silently shouted at the ceiling, daring whoever it was in charge of everything to answer her.

Because it _was_ supposed to be over. The Jewel had been completed, and she had left the Sengoku Jidai and Inuyasha because she knew she was _supposed_ to. She'd given up everything – her friends, her family, any chance at a remotely normal life for that duty. And now that her duty had been completed, after all her sacrifices, what was left for her? A flat full of books and bare walls, half way around the world from everyone she knew and loved.

She'd tried, she'd tried so hard to be normal, and it still wouldn't leave her alone. The _shikon no tama_ seemed to have chased her all her life in one form or another: her grandfather's stories, the Sengoku Jidai, her dissertation and now this. Now, it had even tracked her to London – she couldn't believe that anyone alive in the Modern Era actually knew that she was who she was, but at the same time, she couldn't quell the uneasiness in her stomach.

She had heard enough to believe that these wizards who were after it weren't people to underestimate, but she trusted Harry and Ron to protect her, since they dealt with people like that everyday; she wasn't worried about herself.

She was worried because, somewhere deep inside her she _knew._

She knew it wasn't really gone.

_What on earth did Inuyasha _do _with it?_

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of shoes clicking on the floor tiles. She looked up and saw Harry walking towards her. She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them and steeledher gaze at the opposite wall. To her great surprise he sat down beside her. They sat in silence for a long time.

Eventually, Harry broke the silence by yawning. She stifled a laugh. 'The great Harry Potter, defeater of the most powerful Dark Lord in a century, yawned. At least we know he's normal,' she thought.

"Do you want to talk about what happened tonight?" she asked.

"No," he answered bluntly. "I'm only out here because they made me come after you. We knew you'd get lost on your way out."

Kagome resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "You are aware that if you want my help on this case, you're eventually going to have to actually talk to me," she said.

He looked up at her, completely surprised, like it was the last thing he expected her to want to do. Surprise quickly turned into suspicion, "What do you want me to say?"

"Anything! You've barely said two words to me since I woke up at Ron and Hermione's. What happened to that guy I went to dinner with tonight? Bring him back, I liked him," she said, annoyed.

"Yeah, well, that was before you knew who I was. As soon as you figured it out you wouldn't speak to me, either," he said darkly. "Maybe I should just go."

"Oh no, you're not mister," Kagome grabbed him by the arm and poked his chest. "I am mad because you've been completely silent for the last six hours! You don't get to leave until we talk about what the hell happened tonight."

Harry wrenched his arm away from her and made to stand up, but Kagome pulled him back down to the floor. "You're not going to win this one, Harry. I'm probably more stubborn than you are," her eyes narrowing. "What happened tonight?"

"You know what happened, Kagome. We were attacked by a dark wizard," he contemptuously.

She rolled her eyes. "You know what I meant, Harry."

He leveled his gaze at her, "It is because of the whole Boy-Who-Lived thing that I don't have any other friends besides Ron and Hermione. People are either afraid of me, or they are just being nice to me because they're hoping that the fame rubs off on them," he spat.

His eyes shifted slightly and became incredibly dark and intense. "When I met you I was happy because you _didn't_ know who I was, I could just be myself instead of being who everyone else, Ron and Hermione aside, seem to think I am. And tonight ruined that."

_This _was what he was upset about? He obviously had no idea who he was dealing with.

"No one but me knows how I actually defeated Voldemort, and yet everyone thinks they can have a piece of me because of it," he continuing furiously. She tightened her grip on his arm and met his eyes again and suddenly she _felt_ him; a rush of images assaulted her brain and she felt all of his anger at the world; anger at his parents for getting themselves blown up, Sirius for falling through the damned veil, at Dumbledore for letting himself be killed, anger at Ron and Hermione for actually being happy after everything they've seen and done, and finally at Voldemort for positivelyruining _everything_. She gasped, horrified at the all of this pain, and feeling like she might explode with the force of it. She pulled away quickly and backed up against the wall, feeling very small and afraid of this man in front of her.

_I had no idea…_

He smiled at her mockingly, "So, what's it going to be? Revulsion at the thought that I had to murder somebody? Or a lust for fame? Either way, you'll probably just bememory-charmed at the end of this anyway and you won't remember a thing."

She felt her palm connect with the side of his face. It didn't even register that she'd slapped him until she saw his eyes grow wide and his hand move to his now bright red cheek. But, rather than feeling guilty, she felt strangely empowered.

She narrowed her eyes at him, refusing to back down, "I'm sorry, Harry, but if you wanted a pity party, you're not getting one from me. We've all had to do things we're not proud of, and everyone has their own emotional baggage. I liked _you_, the Harry I went to dinner with tonight, not whoever this brooding and angry _boy_ sitting in front of me is."

"You don't know anything about me, or what I've been through, no one does," he said icily, his hand still hovering over the darkening handprint on his face.

"Oh really?" she replied, glaring daggers and not feeling very sorry at all. "I recognize a man who has refused to accept what life has given him, even if it wasn't always what he wanted. I see a man who is angry at the world because of how he was forced to grow up to fast, which I admit is horrible, but refuses to see all the good things he was given. You have Ron and Hermione; the entire Wizarding world knows who you are and respects you. You are a _hero_, Harry, and with that comes both burdens and rewards, and you have to accept the whole package," she said, her chest constricting so tightly she could scarcely breathe.

She inhaled deeply, trying to regain her bearings before looking at him again, eyes narrowed. "Do us all a favor and cut the angsty 'No one understands me' melodrama, Harry. You're better than that, and I'm not buying it," she said coldly as she stood and walked out of the hallway without looking back.

She wasn't sure how she found the exit, or how she found her flat that night. Everything was a blur as she ran down the street, her heart feeling as if it was about to explode.

_No! I'm not doing this and you can't make me!_

She barely made it inside her flat before the sobs came, wracking her body with their force, and for the first time, Kagome felt exactly how very old and very tired her soul really was.


	7. Chapter 5: On the Edge

**(A/N): **Hi! I'm sure you're all wondering where I ran off to… Japan was fun, but I'm happy to be home where people speak the language I speak (although I got quite good at ordering meals in Japanese). :o) In any case, here is another chapter, as promised (if a little late). Thank you for the reviews, they really make my day! A few people left questions in their reviews, and I have answered them at the bottom.

Oh, and I'm an idiot and should have mentioned this earlier, but there are significant quantities of HBP spoilers from here on out and spoilers for the most recent manga chapters of Inuyasha. Sorry if you found out stuff you didn't know yet!

Thanks again to my beta reader FieryFaerie!

ooo

**Light in Dark Places**

By: Eilan-san

ooo

**_Chapter 5: On the Edge_**

_And this is why my eyes are closed,_

_It's just as well for all I've seen._

_And so it goes, and so it goes,_

_And you're the only one who knows._

_--Billy Joel, "And So It Goes"_

ooo

Kagome almost felt bad for the beef she was currently taking her anger out on. She chopped and shredded the beef into very thin slices with an intensity rivaled only by Inuyasha and his Tetsusaiga when he slew an enemy. Unfortunately the beef wasn't the one she was actually angry at; the object of her current frustrations was sitting on her couch and flipping through the channels on her television.

When she'd woken up that morning, she'd been so surprised to see Harry asleep on her couch that she'd screamed. Harry had been so startled, he'd jumped off the couch, his wand drawn and eyes still glazed over with sleep. When he'd finally realized that there was no attacker, and Kagome had just been surprised to see him, he'd put his wand away and headed into the loo, grumbling something about "Tonks' stupid orders."

She heard the hot water turn on, signaling that he had gotten in the shower before she noticed that a large suitcase was now sitting underneath a shelf in her living room. She had been so angry that she nearly missed the large snowy owl pecking at her window. Curious, she opened the window and let the bird in and saw that it was carrying a piece of parchment with her name on it.

The letter read: _Dear Professor Higurashi, I am writing to inform you that even though you are reticent about the plans for your protection, I must insist that you be placed under a protective detail, and since Auror Potter is the only suitable person available, he has been assigned (much against his wishes) to you. Try not to hurt him too badly. Sincerely, Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin, Chief of the Auror Division, Ministry of Magic._

And so Harry was going to be living with her until God-knew-when, or at least until this madman or woman was found and put away. It would have been made slightly more bearable if Harry would talk to her, or at least show some sign of accepting the situation, but he was still being a prat.

So she was taking her frustration with him out on the food, which was just as well since the food couldn't complain. She added the beef to the wok and was busy chopping up a white onion when she felt his presence over her shoulder.

"What are you cooking?" he asked, peering curiously at the wok as the beef fried happily in the oil.

"Gyu-don," she answered shortly. "It's a mixture of beef, onions and sauce over white rice."

She saw his nose wrinkle up and she frowned. "What you don't like onions or something?"

"No, I just don't like Asian food," he answered curtly before walking back into the living room.

"How do you know you don't like something you've never had?" she called to his retreating back. He didn't answer. Gritting her teeth, she finished chopping the onion and tossed it in with the beef and added the bottled teriyaki sauce. 'What is it with men never liking my cooking?' she thought angrily.

The rice cooked merrily away in its cooker, and the beef would be done soon, she would just have to change the stove setting to low and let it simmer in the sauce for a while. All in all, she was rather proud of herself. She hadn't had to cook for anyone other than herself in a long time, and tonight she was cooking for not two, but four people.

She pursed her lips. _Where are we all going to sit?_ She had a very small kitchen table, which was barely big enough for her, much less four grown adults. Gyu-don was a bit messy so the coffee table was out –

She felt like an idiot. She was having three _wizards_ over for dinner. One of whom was already here.

She walked into the living room and saw that Harry was still sulking on the couch. He had large circles under his eyes signaling that he probably hadn't slept well and there was still a bit of a bruise on his face where she'd hit him the day before. She felt a twinge of pity; she knew that couch wasn't very comfortable to sit on, much less sleep on.

Shoving away the feelings of sympathy, she asked, "Harry, is there a way you can come up with a table and chairs for us to sit on for dinner?"

Harry looked at her strangely. "Why? Can't we just use the one in the kitchen?"

"I barely fit at it, much less you, me, Ron and Hermione," Kagome said impatiently, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Fine," he said tersely, getting up and drawing his wand. Kagome watched him intently; she hadn't seen him cast a spell without being under threat of physical harm before and she was curious to see exactly how it worked. He closed his eyes and whispered an incantation and suddenly her couch had been turned into four chairs and her coffee table was now a large oak table.

He turned to her with a smirk on his face, as if to say, "I'm brilliant," but Kagome just stared at the chairs.

She looked up at him thoughtfully, "Can you turn anything into something else?"

"Yep. I could turn that couch into a desk or a bed or a rice cooker, or just about anything," Harry said, puffing up his chest and looking quite proud of himself.

She couldn't help it; she burst out laughing.

"What?" he said, eyes widening in confusion. "What's so funny?"

"I -- I'm sure you would have slept much better," Kagome panted, barely get the words out because she was laughing so hard, "If you had turned the couch into a bed last night."

He looked almost angry for a moment, but she could see the grin threatening on his lips as understanding dawned on him and eventually he was laughing just as hard as she was, clutching his sides.

"I guess I'll have to remember to do that tonight, I don't know if my back could take another night of sleeping on that infernal thing," Harry said, his laughter diminishing to a chuckle.

"I could have told you as much. I picked it up off of an undergraduate and it absolutely reeked of beer when I first got it, not to mention the fact that it sags in the middle," Kagome giggled. It felt so good to laugh with him, the tension of the past thirty-six hours was suddenly lifted and she finally felt at home with him again.

Harry smiled at her, his earlier sour expression completely absent as if it had never been there at all, and she grinned back, her own eyes dancing gleefully. She heard a sharp crack and saw Ron and Hermione appear just inside the foyer, which just sent her and Harry back into hysterical giggles.

"What're you lot carrying on about?" Ron asked, clearly bewildered and gripping a foil-covered plate like a lifeline to sanity. "We just apparated."

"Nothing, Ron, I was just being an idiot," Harry grinned and turned to Kagome, "Do you want me to set the table?"

"Yes, that would be lovely. Thank you," Kagome responded and turned on her heel to go check on the food, Harry and Hermione following her.

"Well, I think it's wonderful that you and Harry decided to grow up and not let a little row get in the way of you working together," she said slyly. Kagome looked at Harry and rolled her eyes as she handed him the plates and he just grinned.

"What did you bring, Hermione?" Kagome asked absently as she handed Harry a bowl and pointed at the rice cooker. He took the hint and began spooning large amounts of sticky white rice into the bowl while she checked the beef for the last time and turned off the stove.

"I brought dessert – I knew you were cooking, so I tried to make something Asian. I hope it's alright," Hermione fidgeted slightly, twisting the hem of her shirt in her hands.

Kagome quirked an eyebrow, "You do know that most Japanese desserts aren't sweet, and are made from a red bean paste right?"

Hermione flushed horribly, "Er, no, not really, actually. I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

"Our Hermione is not that great of a cook, but she tries hard," Ron called from the living room.

"I resent that, Ron," Hermione called back.

"Only because it's true," Harry added, coming into the kitchen to stand beside Kagome; Hermione crossed her arms dejectedly and Kagome chuckled.

Kagome, after checking everything over and deciding she was pleased, announced, "Alright, dinner's ready, let's eat," and marched into the living room with the wok and a potholder.

"Bloody fantastic!" Ron was positively salivating as she set down the wok on the table in front of him and handing him a pair of chopsticks.

"Ron! Do you ever think with anything other than your stomach?" Hermione admonished, but dropping spoonfuls of rice into a bowl and handing it to him anyway.

"No, but you knew that before you married me," he grinned and accepted the bowl gratefully before adding huge amounts of the beef mixture on top of the rice.

Kagome wandered over to Harry who handed her a bowl of rice; "Are they always like this?" she asked in a low voice.

"You should have seen when they first started out," he smiled. "They were a nightmare. Fought every chance they had, and I seem to remember Hermione setting some birds on him because she was angry that he'd gone off to snog his then-girlfriend Lavender."

Hermione blushed, but recovered quickly. "Oh, Harry, like you were really any better," she teased. "What was your description of your first kiss? Oh yes, I believe you said it was, and I quote, 'wet'."

Kagome stared incredulously at Harry, "That was the best you could come up with?"

"She was crying and I was fifteen!" Harry exclaimed, embarrassed. He plopped down at the table with his food and dug his chopsticks into his rice.

"Well, I hope she wasn't crying because you were a bad kisser," Kagome joked, and Harry flushed and mumbled something under his breath.

"What was that, mate?" Ron asked, leaning over the table and nearly knocking the rice over.

"He said, 'Ginny didn't think so,'" Hermione supplied helpfully, smirking as Ron put his hands over his ears.

"I don't want to hear about what you did with my sister!" he cried.

"You dated his sister?" Kagome asked, somewhat surprised. Something rose up in her chest and tugged at her heart, something that teetered on jealousy. She shoved it away.

"We dated for a few weeks during my sixth year, and then several years later for a few months, but it didn't work out. Apparently, she's engaged to one of our classmates," Harry said nonchalantly, staring at his food.

"All the better for you, mate," Ron said, shoveling food into his mouth, oblivious to the awkwardness that was beginning to infiltrate the room. "She may be my sister, but she's absolutely bonkers. You're better off without her."

"Oh, like you're not bonkers yourself, Ron," snorted Hermione, "I think it runs in your family."

"I'm mad about _you_, Hermione," he responded. Hermione tried admirably to hide her smile of joy and rewarded her husband with a kiss.

Harry shot Kagome a sheepish glance over his bowl, as if he was trying to apologize for his friends' behavior.

Kagome only laughed, "You guys are so cute I think it makes me ill."

"Amen to that!" Harry raised his glass and Kagome clinked her own glass cheerfully with his. "Enough with the sappiness already, and down to business."

"And that would be?" Ron asked. "What could be more interesting than me snogging my wife at our new friend's flat over dinner?" Harry was obviously trying to send his slightly-thick best friend telepathic messages, a smirk plastered on his face, and it was equally obvious that Ron wasn't getting them.

Hermione also stared at this silent exchange, and suddenly lit up. She turned to Kagome; "We know everything about each other already, that's boring. We want to know about you!"

"I agree," Harry said, grinning broadly. "We need dirt on you, Professor, as there's already plenty on us to go around."

Red crept up Kagome's neck and stained her face, "There's – There's not much to tell," she stuttered, not sure where to begin and how much to say. She liked her new friends a lot, but there were just some things that were better left to herself and her family, not to mention in the past.

_Exactly 500 years in the past._

Harry's eyes flashed predatorily and he leaned over to whisper in her ear; she shivered as his warm breath hit her skin, "Come on, Miss Higurashi. Surely there's something interesting in your past."

_Oh, Harry, you have no idea. _

"I was actually ill for most of my adolescence, if you would believe it," she lied thinly. She glanced at Harry and was mildly surprised to notice that Harry was looking at her strangely, but he made no move to contradict her. "I spent my childhood in Tokyo at a Shinto Shrine that my family has been the caretakers of for five hundred years."

Kagome giggled; Ron was now filling up his fourth bowl of gyu-don. "What?" he asked, his mouth full. "I like good food."

Kagome smiled and looked plaintively at Harry, "At least _someone_ does."

"Okay, so I was wrong about the gyu-don. It is actually rather tasty," he said good-naturedly, but then his brow suddenly furrowed in thought.

"Didn't you say that your family is connected to the legend of the _shikon no tama_?" he asked.

Kagome dropped her eyes to her lap and she played with her napkin while trying to figure out how to best answer that question, "Yes, my family shrine is on the site of the original shrine where the Jewel was kept. Even though it is no longer there, we are still the main caretakers of that particular legend."

"I read the chapter of the book you gave me," Harry said and Kagome's head snapped up, stunned that he'd actually read it. She'd figured that he would have not paid any attention to what she'd said after the debacle the night before.

"Dr. Yamato was quite thorough in his article," he continued. "He said that the Jewel arrived with a contingent of demon slayers who asked the shrine maiden there, Kikyou, to be the guardian of the Jewel. Is that the same Kikyou as the legend you told us about?"

Kagome nodded dumbly. Hermione and Ron were now listening with great interest, each lost in their own thoughts.

"What I find most curious," Hermione said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Is how the wizards after this Jewel even heard about it in the first place? I mean, it's not a very well known legend, now is it?"

Kagome bit her lip. "Well," she began, "It's most likely that the person after the Jewel _isn't_ a wizard."

"But all of our intelligence says that it was," Harry countered. "They hired a wizard to attack you! Most muggles aren't even aware we exist at all."

"And most people, wizards and muggle alike, aren't aware that _youkai_ exist either," she said fiercely. "The fact of the matter is that a normal person, even a witch or a wizard, would simply not be able to use the Jewel." She took a deep breath and was suddenly very glad that she had used this information in her dissertation and that it was available in literature instead of stemming from her own practical experience.

"The Jewel responds to spiritual magic, and only people capable of wielding this spiritual magic would be able to use the Jewel. The battle raging on inside the Jewel consists of the soul of a very powerful _miko_, who would use _shenki_, and many _youkai_, who would use _jyaki._ The battle, and thus the balance of the two types of energy present within the Jewel is influenced by the person that holds it," Kagome paused, the revelation of this information coalescing inside her head at a rapid pace. "Which would mean that if it was in the hands of a _miko_, or a priest or something, it would be purified by the _shenki_, and thus rendered harmless in their hands." Her eyes widened in understanding of the situation, "And that would mean that if it was in the hands of a _youkai_, the Jewel would increase its _jyaki_, and thus the _youkai_'s abilities would increase!"

She slapped her hand down on the table, "Harry!" she cried, "That's it! Your culprit isn't a wizard at all, it's a demon!"

Harry, Ron and Hermione simply gaped at her, open mouthed, and she secretly was quite proud of herself for figuring this out.

"But… but according to the reports from the Japanese Ministry of Magic we received this morning, nearly all of the _youkai _died out a long time ago and the Jewel just simply disappeared into legend," Ron said quietly, looking troubled. "There has been no real mention of the Jewel or anyone even trying to find it in the last five hundred years. So why would it come up now?"

"I flipped through that report when you brought it home this afternoon, Ron," Hermione said, "And I think it might have something to do with the unexplained spike in spiritual energy activity thirteen years ago."

Fear sliced through Kagome's heart and she struggled to keep her body from shaking. 'That's when my quest finished,' she thought, distraught. 'That was when I permanently re-entered this world.' She had always assumed her quest had gone unnoticed by the world, but she was clearly mistaken.

Hermione continued on, not noticing Kagome death-like grip on the table, "There was a sharp spike in _shenki _briefly, but it faded, and shortly after this initial spike, there was an increase in _youkai_ sightings… it was like they'd actually been simply dormant for all these years, rather than gone. It was quite difficult for the Japanese Ministry to keep everything under control for those few years."

Kagome's heart hammered in her chest. 'I'd been so caught up in my own feelings of rejection that I never even noticed,' she thought miserably. 'I threw myself into embracing normality as much as possible that I shut down that part of myself that was able to sense these things, and now it might be gone forever just when I need it again.'

She looked up and saw Hermione looking at her expectantly, "I'm sorry," she said, reddening, "What did you say?"

"I said you could probably find more information about these kinds of things at the Ministry library instead of at the University Library. We specialize in magical literature, and even though it's a bit different than our kind of magic, I'm sure there's something there," Hermione repeated, throwing her a small smile.

"Leave it to Hermione to always think the answer's at the library," Harry said with a wry smile. Hermione glared at him and he shrugged. "It's not a bad idea, I'm just saying." He turned to Kagome, who was still looking a bothered by all of this. "Do you want to go to the Ministry tomorrow? I have to go file some paperwork anyway, so we could just go together."

Kagome nodded. 'Any help would be great right about now,' she thought.

Hermione brightened immediately at this, "Great! Why don't you come over around lunch time and I'll show you where it is and we can at least get started before class at 2:00?"

"That sounds good," Harry assented, then looked at Kagome and frowned upon seeing her still staring at the floor looking for all the world like an extremely lost and troubled little girl.

He glanced worriedly at Hermione and Ron, both of whom shrugged as the awkward silence continued to infiltrate the room.

Ron cleared his throat, "I hate to be a bother, dearest, but it is getting late and we should probably head home."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "We should get going. Thank you, Kagome for a lovely dinner. I hope we get to do this again."

Kagome gave a forced smile and Harry wondered what was bothering her so much.

Still looking at Kagome, he said, "Have a good night, we'll see you tomorrow."

Hermione and Ron exchanged a strange look before disapparating out of the flat and leaving Harry and Kagome alone again.

Kagome immediately went to the table and began picking up dishes and bringing them into the kitchen and dumping them unceremoniously into the sink. Harry regarded her silently for a moment before helping her.

_What on earth is bothering her so much? What did we say?_

The tension was so thick Harry felt he could cut it with a knife as they wordlessly got ready for bed; Kagome didn't even blink when he transfigured the dining room suite/couch and coffee table into a bed and nightstand.

Feeling exceptionally awkward but feeling the need to alleviate the pressure, he said quietly, "Is it hard to think that what you had always studied as an academic pursuit turned out to be real? That this Jewel and magic really exists?"

Kagome broke out of her haze and stared at him, surprised. "What? No, it's not that at all. You know I don't really care about the whole Boy-Who-Lived thing, right?"

Now it was Harry's turn to be surprised. "You don't?" he asked incredulously.

Kagome shrugged and a small smile lingered on her lips, "I met you as 'just Harry' and you're still 'just Harry' to me. No amount of magic in the world will change that." She looked at the new bed in her living room and she chuckled. "Although it might take a bit of getting used to, I was just about to offer you a set of sheets and a pillow, but it seems you've already taken care of that."

If he weren't so shocked, he probably would have laughed, but all he could do was stare dumbly at her, mouth hanging open at an unattractive angle.

Kagome laughed, "You better close your mouth, you'll draw flies." She turned and walked into the kitchen and Harry shook his head to clear it before heading to the bathroom to change into his pajamas.

When he emerged, Kagome was sitting on his bed with a mug of hot chocolate. She gestured at another mug sitting on his nightstand, which he took gratefully.

She looked at him anxiously as he sat down beside her. "Hey," he murmured. "I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry for acting like such a prat yesterday and today."

Kagome just shrugged. "Forgiven. To be perfectly honest, you actually rate really low on the 'I'm a jerk but Kagome will like me anyway' scale," she said ruefully, sipping her hot cocoa.

He quirked an eyebrow at her, and she chuckled. "There were these two boys I hung out with a lot during middle school. One was eternally angry at everything and everyone, and the other, well, let's just say that his hands had a mind of their own."

"You're joking," he said, dubiously.

Kagome shook her head from side to side, "Nope, he was awful. He has probably grabbed the butt of every girl within a sixty-mile radius of where we lived, me and my best friend included." She smiled with the memory. "It was pretty funny, looking back, actually."

"I can only imagine. I think Hermione would have slugged us if either me or Ron ever did that to her growing up."

Kagome giggled, "Oh, we did that, but it never seemed to work." Harry couldn't help but join her, her laughter was infectious, but his amusement was cut short by a large yawn.

"And I think that's my cue to go to bed," he said.

Kagome smiled and he smiled back. 'It feels really good to be able to smile at her again, being angry with her took a lot of effort,' he thought, blushing faintly.

She nodded rising from the bed and moved to leave, but Harry caught her wrist. She turned around, puzzled.

"I…" he started, but unsure of what exactly to say. "I wanted to tell you that, er, I'm really glad that you aren't angry with me or acting weird about who I am. I'm not used to it, but I guess I just wanted to say thank you for treating me normally."

Her face contorted strangely for a second, but then she smiled at him again, and his insides fluttered.

"Of course," she said softly. "Sleep well, Harry."

He nodded mutely, his eyes followed her as she walked towards room. She turned and paused at the door, meeting his gaze with her own, her eyes dark and filled with a something unidentifiable. He held the stare – his insides buzzing with the intense look in her eyes – as she closed the door to her room, only breaking the stare when she slipped out of view.

Harry let the breath he'd been holding out and flopped backwards onto the bed.

'She doesn't care!' he thought jubilantly, unable to suppress the grin that lit up his face.

A part of him had absolutely danced with joy when she'd said that, and secretly – so secretly he didn't dare admit it to himself just yet – he felt his heart go out to her and mingle and connect with hers.

Because he'd realized that _that_ was the real reason he'd reacted the way he had when she'd been told about his past. He'd been terrified at being laid bare in front of this person he barely knew and so he'd acted like a git.

But even that hadn't deterred her, and he remembered that rush of euphoria and anger and fear when she'd grabbed his arm and met his eyes in the hallway at the Ministry as he felt all of his torrid emotions rush into her, all her fear and confusion roaring in his ears as she trembled underneath the weight of all his regrets.

He _felt_ her, and that connection absolutely terrified him.

And yet she'd forgiven him. She acted as though she had felt nothing at all, or if she had, she didn't care or mind in the slightest.

_Who are you, Kagome? And what are you doing here? There has to be a reason for you being here, and a reason for this strange bond we seem to have._

Harry sighed and put his glasses on the nightstand. Turning the covers down and settling himself into bed, he thought he heard a voice that sounded suspiciously like Dumbledore's.

"Well, I guess you're stuck together for awhile aren't you?" it said. He could almost see his former mentor's eyes twinkling. "Make the most of it!"

With a grin on his lips as he began to drift off to sleep, he thought, 'I intend to, Albus, I intend to.'

ooo

**_Reviewer Questions:_**

**Several People -- **

1) Q: I can't believe Kagome slapped him! A: Harry was totally being a jackass, and I felt Kagome was probably the only person who could smack (literally) some sense into him. I'm glad you all enjoyed that, because I certainly did!

2) Q: Is Inuyasha coming back? A: As this is totally a Harry/Kagome story and although other ships in both canons will be acknowledged (there will be discussion at length between Harry and Kagome about Inuyasha later); Inuyasha will _not_ be coming back for her. So… if you were looking for an Inuyasha/Kagome story, this probably isn't it, unless you don't mind only looking at it in the past tense.

**Trigger Happy Bibliophile** asked if Inuyasha was "evil" in this story and what he did with the Jewel. A: No, actually, Inuyasha is not evil in this story. He is good, but like most people of that era had to deal with a really difficult decision – what's more important, your personal feelings or your duty? And like most Japanese people of that era, he went with duty. This specific moral quandary actually comes up in ridiculous quantities in classical Japanese literature; check out the plays of Chikamatsu sometime. Anyway, this obviously sucked for our dear Kagome, and most certainly made her angry and upset and hurt, but that's life and people make decisions we don't like all the time. Plus, she's in London now with Harry, and she'll find her own happiness soon enough. As for what Inuyasha did with the Jewel, you'll just have to wait and see, now won't you:o)

**Ayme** asked if I could bring Inuyasha in to kick Harry's butt for being a jerk and if there were going to be more parts about Inuyasha and his and Kagome's adventures. A: Kagome most certainly has not forgotten about Inuyasha, but thirteen years is a long time (she's almost doubled her lifespan since meeting Inuyasha, if you think about it) and people move on. He was her first love, and you never really forget your first love (especially one as special as that) and it will come up eventually. However, he's definitely not coming back to save her or to kill Harry.


	8. Chapter 6: Immersion

**A/N**: Guess what, y'all! I'm back! And I swear I won't take a year hiatus EVER again. :o)

ooo

**Light in Dark Places**

By: Eilan-san

ooo

_**Chapter 6: Immersion**_

_The space between your heart and mine_

_Is the space we'll fill with time._

_--Dave Matthews, "The Space Between"_

ooo

The next morning seemed oddly surreal. Harry and Kagome surprisingly slipped into an easy routine: she made coffee and he made toast and they sat at the kitchen table in a comfortable silence as they both read the paper, enjoying the other's company. It was almost as if they had been doing this for years instead of forty-eight hours, twenty-four of which they hadn't really been speaking.

Harry had especially enjoyed the easy banter on the underground as they made their way to the Ministry of Magic. They had laughed and recounted their first meeting at the tube station and for the first time in a long time, Harry felt completely relaxed.

However, upon entering the lobby at the Ministry of Magic, Harry noticed one woman's gaze lingering on his forehead. He felt himself tense as the woman turned to whisper to her companion with a none-too-subtle point in his direction.

Kagome quirked an eyebrow at him as she filled out the sign-in sheet; and he gestured to the woman pointing at him with his a tilt of his head. Kagome looked over at the older women and shook her head in disbelief. She gave Harry a reassuring smile and squeezed his arm before accepting her guest badge from the attendant and pinning it to her blouse.

Harry could feel the heated whispers and stares follow them down the corridors, into the elevator and up the stairs, going through him as if he was glass. His frown grew deeper and his temper flared with each passing moment.

Could they not understand that he could _hear_ them, _see_ them, _feel _them looking at him, talking about him?

He was about ready to scream at the portrait bowing to him nearby when he felt Kagome's hand on his arm.

He turned to her, confused, but she just smiled back with warm eyes. "You really weren't kidding about the whole being famous thing, were you?" she said. She leaned closer to him and her breath tickled his ear, "Too bad I know who you really are, hm?" she teased. "What would they say if they knew you snored at night?" Kagome pulled back, eyes twinkling with mischief, and suddenly all the tension flooded out of him again.

_How does she do that?_

And somewhere in the back of his mind he couldn't help but think that he never wanted to stop smiling as much as he did around her.

Unfortunately this feeling didn't last long, either. He was pointing out the doors to Hermione's department when they were rudely interrupted.

"Well, well, well, it seems that the rumors are true. He-Who-Defeated-the-Dark-Lord is being followed around by a muggle," said a snide voice from behind them.

Harry whipped around quickly, Kagome close behind him, hand still on his arm. Leaning against the wall, a short distance behind them, stood a perfectly coiffed Draco Malfoy, his patented smirk at full volume.

"Malfoy" Harry bit out distastefully. "What do you want?"

Kagome wordlessly glanced from Harry to Malfoy and back again with a worried expression and Harry felt her move her hand from his arm down to his hand and clutch it tightly. He squeezed it, hoping to give her some reassurance, but she only held on tighter and refused to let go.

"I don't want anything, Potter, just thought I would come say hello to my former classmate and see for myself what on _earth_ a wizard like you would want with a muggle," Malfoy spat. He threw a falsely sweet smile at Kagome. "She's clearly not your servant," he threw a pointed glance at their joined hands. "Are you having an affair, perhaps? I suppose muggles would make decent companions, I mean, one _Imperio_ and they'll do whatever you want."

Ordinarily, Harry would have been angry, but at the moment he was absolutely terrified of Kagome, who was glaring at Malfoy in a murderous fury, rivaling only Hermione during the bird incident in sixth year. He felt her begin to move forward, and he grabbed her arm to keep from assaulting Draco.

"Aw, you don't like me? Too bad," Malfoy sneered. "Not that I would associate with trash such as yourself anyway, even if the precious 'Chosen One' would."

"The only trash I see here is you, Malfoy," Harry snarled back, taking a defensive posture, hand floating above his wand. Getting involved in a stand off in the middle of the Ministry was something he really wanted to avoid. However, he thought it was strange that Malfoy didn't recognize that Kagome was clearly not _just_ a muggle since she was in the Ministry at _all_.

Strangely, even though Malfoy's hand was also hovering above his wand, his attention abruptly shifted from Harry to Kagome and a look of confused and intense interest entered his eyes. Harry lowered his hand and watched in bewilderment.

"Who in the hell _are_ you?" Draco asked roughly, still looking at her. He was looking at her almost… almost as if he was trying to place her.

Draco's eyes widened and Kagome's back stiffened quickly, "A friend of Harry and Hermione's, what's it to you?" she retorted, and peered closer at him. "And who exactly are _you_?"

Recovering rapidly, Draco broke the stare. "That's none of your business, mudblood," Draco said scornfully.

Kagome's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Clearly," she began, her voice tight. "You are an wretched example of a human being and I don't want anything to do with you anyway. _Harry_ is my _friend, _and if you don't like it you can go jump off of a cliff for all I care."

Harry saw Draco's jaw drop, but didn't even have time to contemplate the shocked look on his face before Kagome had taken his hand and was dragging him behind her in the direction he'd pointed out as being towards Hermione's office.

Kagome found the door labeled Hermione Granger-Weasley and burst through the door to the office, Harry in tow.

"What's the matter?" Hermione asked, startled, and beckoned them to come in.

Harry closed the door and sat himself down in one of the armchairs near Hermione's desk, but Kagome, still seething, paced around the office. "Kagome just had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Malfoy," Harry supplied with a wry smile.

"Oh," Hermione said. "Sorry about that. He was supposed to be gone for lunch, I'd hoped you wouldn't run into him."

Kagome stopped and took a deep breath before plopping down in the armchair next to Harry. "He is the sort of person I absolutely cannot stand – the sort that only associates with people who can get him somewhere. He obviously has a superiority complex for people who are different from him," she said, eyes still blazing. Closing her eyes and rubbing her temples, she said quietly, "One of my best friends growing up was treated horribly because of his mixed parentage and it makes me very angry when someone uses that kind of language."

She sighed and leaned back in the chair. "I'm glad we got out of there when we did. I might have slugged him, and poor Hermione here would have a lot of explaining to do."

Hermione just grinned and exchanged a glance with Harry.

"How _did_ he end up getting a job in the Ministry after everything he pulled during the war, anyway?" Harry asked.

"Unfortunately, money and old connections still talk in this day and age," Hermione replied. "Although I do find it entertaining that I am his boss now. Poor boy, having a _mudblood_ for a _supervisor_. If only he knew the Dark Lord had been one as well, I don't know _what_ he'd do."

Harry and Kagome laughed in unison as Hermione made a mental note of their physical proximity and smiled. "So, I understand you need to see the library, Professor. Harry, you'd better be off to your office before my husband has your tail. I'll make sure the Professor is safe from any more of Malfoy's malevolence."

Harry nodded. "Meet you in an hour?" he asked.

"Yes, that sounds fine," Kagome replied, eyes still closed.

Harry bade the girls goodbye and headed off down the hall towards the Auror Office.

"Shall we go?" Kagome asked.

Hermione nodded, nearly bursting with desire to ask the question she _really_ wanted to ask, nosy woman that she was. Unfortunately, it wasn't until they were opening the doors to the library, and safely out of earshot, that Hermione broke down.

"So… how did you sleep last night?" she whispered slyly.

Kagome just rolled her eyes and shook her head with a smile. "Enough with the matchmaking, we are stuck together now whether we like it or not. If something happens, it will happen on its own, and you will be the first to know."

Hermione smiled mischievously at first, but then turned serious, "You honestly don't care about who he is? That he's a wizard? That he's famous? His whole life he's been 'The Boy Who Lived'," she said, placing her bag down on an empty table near the shelves of books and Kagome followed suit.

"Everyone has baggage," she said evasively. "We all have secrets."

Meanwhile, Harry was in the middle of being asked the same question by Ron.

"Back off already! And tell your wife to do the same!" Harry said frustrated, as he collapsed into the chair behind his desk, and buried his face in his hands.

Ron, with an earnest look on his face, said, "We just want you to be happy, and we saw how you were looking at each other. It's obvious that you like her."

Harry peeked out from behind his hands and sighed. "Yeah, I guess I do," he said somewhat reluctantly. "She's pretty, she's smart and she stands up to me. She doesn't seem to care that I'm a wizard or the Boy-Who-Bloody-Lived or whatever. I'm just a normal bloke to her, and it's a nice change."

Ron didn't say anything, just simply stood against the doorframe, grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh shut it," Harry said, smiling back, blushing a little.

Ron opened his mouth to continue teasing his friend, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Uh… Mister… Mister Potter, sir?" The department's newest intern, Emma Macklin, stood outside of Harry's office door and was obviously incredibly star-struck. "There's, uh, been a report from the hospital on Professor Yamato's condition. I think you'll want to take a look at it." The poor girl was obviously nervous, and Harry could see her hand shaking as she held out the piece of parchment.

He smiled graciously at her, "Thank you, Emma."

Emma squeaked and then flushed horribly. "You're welcome, Mister… Mister Potter," she stammered, and promptly fled the room.

"You gotta tell me how you do that, mate," Ron said, watching Emma run off to her cubicle down the hall and trying very hard not to burst out laughing. "It's bloody hysterical how you make them go all stuttery like that."

He turned back towards Harry, but he was consumed in the parchment, eyes widening with each line. He jumped to his feet and Ron was forced to leap back and out of his way.

"Ron, I need an emergency portkey as soon as humanly possible," Harry said, eyes never leaving the parchment in his hands.

"What's going on?" Ron asked, incredulous at the serious look on Harry's face.

"Things just got a lot more interesting," Harry said with a grimace and quickly packed up his things and headed towards the library.

He found the girls towards the back of the reading room. Hermione was, as usual, poring over the dusty tomes, but Kagome was looking right at him as soon as he came into view, as if she was expecting him.

"Ladies, we have a new development," he said, walking up to them and trying to shake off the odd feeling that was tickling his insides. Kagome simply continued looking at him with that peculiar look on her face.

"I just received a note from Dr. Yamato's attending physician. It appears the healers deduced that the nightmares Dr. Yamato has been having weren't really nightmares." He paused. "Apparently, they were badly tampered-with memories."

Kagome raised an eyebrow, but stayed silent.

"They secured one of the memories for us. It's waiting for us at the hospital," he said, "We have to go now."

The women hastily filled their bags with their notes, checked out their books, and by the time they returned to the Auror Office, Ron was waiting for them with the portkey.

Hermione had explained to Kagome how a portkey worked on the way over, but everyone was surprised that Kagome showed little ill effect from the trip. She landed with the rest of them and walked calmly towards the entrance to the hospital, leaving the three wizards staring in her wake.

Once inside, they were met by a resident near the information desk, "Ah, Mr. Potter, right this way," he said, and led them to an empty office containing a small pensieve. "Dr. Laurie will be with you shortly."

"Erm, Harry," Kagome asked hesitantly, pointing at the pensieve, "What is that?"

"It's a pensieve. Wizards can extract memories from themselves and others and once they are put into the pensieve, they are basically recorded as you remember them at that particular moment. So, it's a fairly effective way of accurately retaining your memories for your own or other people's reference," Harry said.

Hermione tapped her chin thoughtfully, "What I want to know is how this small hospital in Glastonbury got its hands on one."

"They're rare?" Kagome asked.

"Yes, terribly so," Hermione replied, "But I suppose they would have had one brought in for the _Chosen One_." She glanced playfully at Harry.

Harry rolled his eyes, "Oh, sod off."

"You know it's probably true, though, mate." Ron supplied.

"I know, but you don't have to bring it up," Harry said as an elderly looking doctor entered the room.

"Hello, Mr. Potter, nice to finally meet you in person," he said, extending his hand. "I am Dr. Laurie, Dr. Yamato's attending physician."

"Doctor, thank you so much for helping us. Dr. Yamato's case has been of keen interest in the Auror Division," Harry responded, shaking his hand. "This is Ron Weasley, also from the Auror Division, his wife, Hermione Granger-Weasley, head of the Muggle Mediation Division and Dr. Kagome Higurashi, one of Dr. Yamato's colleagues."

"Pleasure," the doctor said pleasantly. "Here is the memory your office requested," he produced a bottle with the familiar pearly mist swirling inside and handed it to Harry. "I do hope it helps in your search to find out who did this to the poor doctor. The man may never recover completely." Dr. Laurie shook his head. "I shall leave you to it, then. Let me know if there's anything else you need."

Harry took the bottle from him and nodded in the affirmative, and the doctor left with Hermione shutting the door firmly behind him.

"Shall we begin?" she asked, hesitant.

Harry turned to Kagome, "I don't know if muggles can even enter pensieves, so hang onto me the whole time we're in there."

Kagome turned pale, "Enter it? I thought we were just going to watch it."

"Not exactly," said Ron. "Basically, we will lean over the pensieve and sort of fall into it and we will watch the memory take place as bystanders, unable to act on any of the people in it, but as if we were really there."

"That's why it's so important for you stick close to Harry, Kagome," Hermione said.

Kagome nodded and moved closer to him. He wrapped his arm securely around her waist and tried very hard not to think about their proximity. Or how good she smelled.

"Everyone ready?" Harry asked, looking at his companions. Hermione and Ron nodded, and Kagome squeezed his arm. Harry took a deep breath and plunged in.

The impact of their feet hitting the cold, hard cement, made a ringing noise throughout the room, indicating the room was mostly empty. Harry turned briefly and saw Ron and Hermione land nearby out of his peripheral vision and noted that Kagome was still safely attached to his side. He looked around and ascertained that they had landed in a stereotypical dark, dank basement of an old house.

In one corner there was a chair behind a table with a small lamp hanging above it, and an older man was sitting in the chair and two figures were lurking just outside of their line of sight.

This was definitely a muggle memory, and it _had _been tampered with. Only a muggle with small delusions of grandeur would have an altered memory like _this. _It was straight out of the cinema.

Kagome poked him in the side, ruining his amused reverie. "That's him," she whispered, "That's Dr. Yamato. In the chair."

He was an short, older man, ethnically Japanese, with thinning hair and a weathered complexion. He was tied to the chair and was obviously unable to move. "What do you want with me?" he yelled. "I have no idea what you're talking about. The damned thing isn't real! It's just a story!"

One of the shadowy figures came forward, a portly man in with mussed, dark hair. He smacked the doctor across the face, hard enough for him to cry out. "Our information says otherwise, Doctor."

Dr. Yamato was breathing heavily now, and a mark was appearing where the man had struck him. "I am not even the leading expert on this particular subject anyway, why are you concerned with me?"

"Well, give us a name and we'll go talk to him instead," the other figure said cruelly from the dark.

"Dr. Kagome Higurashi. She's the leading expert on this legend. Her family's shrine was the original caretakers of it, or so the legend goes, anyway! Please, let me go!" he begged, his voice cracking.

"So far his information's been accurate," the first man said, bemused. "Maybe we should talk to this woman."

The other man, significantly taller than the first man, finally entered their field of vision, carrying a bowl of herbs that he set down on the table, and scowling.

"The boss wants us to do this first," he replied shortly, producing a match, which he struck on the table and dropped into the bowl.

It took only seconds for the room to fill with smoke; Harry and his party began to cough from the sickly sweet stench of it. The world around them turned muddled; it made Harry so dizzy he had to close his eyes.

"The _Shikon no Tama_ is but a light in the dark places, her purity lighting the darkness of the hearts of men!" the doctor cried out suddenly in the darkness.

He felt Kagome stiffen against him.

"_Find the Guardian!"_

And all Harry was aware of at that moment was Kagome burying her head in his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.

And as suddenly as the fog appeared, it dissipated, although Harry's vision was still blurry.

"Well, I guess it worked," he heard the second goon say soberly.

"What in the bloody hell was he talking about?" the other asked.

"I haven't the faintest idea," he replied. "The boss will definitely want to hear about this."

There was a brief silence, and Harry saw the first guy move the bowl of herbs away from Dr. Yamato and his vision began to sharpen.

"Have you noticed the boss acting a bit off lately?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I mean, you know, off. Like he's possessed."

"Bollocks. Stop talking nonsense."

"So you think we should go find this Higurashi woman?"

"We'll have to see what the boss wants."

Kagome shuddered in Harry's arms. He turned to Ron and Hermione, "Let's get out of here," he said. They nodded grimly.

In a matter of moments they were back in the conference room at the hospital. Harry pulled back from Kagome and looked at her with concern, "Are you alright?"

She nodded and broke away from him, but stumbled. Harry moved to help her, but she just shook him off and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Harry, did you recognize the taller of the two men?" Ron asked gravely.

"Sure did. It was Crabbe," Harry replied. "Which means it's likely that Malfoy is behind this."

"But how on earth would Malfoy have even heard of the Jewel? It doesn't make any sense," Hermione said, lowering herself cautiously into one of the chairs. Even she was shaken.

"Because he _is_ possessed," Kagome said quietly, finally turning around to face them. "That's why I felt so uncomfortable around him. It's been a long time since I've felt a _youkai_'s presence, so I didn't recognize it at first."

She smiled dourly at Hermione. "And that's why Auror Intelligence thought it was a dark wizard when it only could have been a _youkai _or a _miko_. The jewel is effectively worthless to a wizard."

She turned towards Harry, her eyes bright with tears, "Harry, I…" she said weakly, stepping towards him, but she stumbled and fell to the floor and dissolved into tears. Harry crouched down next to her and took her gently into his arms. He glanced at Ron and Hermione, who looked as bewildered and helpless as he felt at that moment.

'What on earth is going on?' he thought.


	9. Chapter 7: Interlude

Light in Dark Places 

By Eilan-san

ooo

_**Chapter 7: Interlude**_

_I'm waiting for tonight,_

_Then waiting for tomorrow,_

_And I'm somewhere in between…_

_What is real and just a dream?_

_--Lifehouse, "Somewhere in Between"_

ooo

Kagome had always known that Inuyasha liked to watch her while she slept; he watched the entire group while they slept, since as a hanyou he needed less sleep than his human companions. She secretly enjoyed feeling his eyes on her as she let herself fall asleep. It was comforting, and she trusted that while he watched, nothing could harm them.

Harry, on the other hand, was just funny.

She was sure that he must have glanced at her furtively about thirty times before blushing and turning back to his book in the last ten minutes.

She'd had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. He was just so… _cute!_

And the obvious lack of experience with girls just made him _more_ cute.

"You know, you're going to have to get better at sneaking looks at me, Harry."

Harry's head snapped up, jaw dropped. "How long have you been awake?" he asked suspiciously, horridly embrassed.

"The last ten minutes," she smiled sleepily. "You're terrible at hiding it." She giggled softly.

God, when was the last time she'd _giggled? _Clearly, it had been far too long. She snuggled deeper into the blankets and made room for Harry to sit on the bed beside her. Which, she noticed with no small amount of glee, that he took with no hesitation.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked, concerned.

She closed her eyes and sighed. She'd been trying to forget the incident earlier that afternoon. "Not really, but I'll be fine eventually."

"Do you want to talk –" he began.

"No," she whispered tightly. "I'm just… I'm just not ready to talk about it."

She wasn't really ready to talk about it with anyone, and specifically not Harry. Things had been going really well thus far and she knew that the minute she mentioned that she was not… _normal_, things were going to change irrevocably.

"How about some hot chocolate?" Harry asked, studying her face, trying to discern her thoughts. She didn't think he found whatever it was he was looking for.

"Hot chocolate sounds wonderful," she replied, smiling at him gratefully as he walked into the kitchen.

_How am I going to tell him? _

How would she start? 'Oh, by the way, I used to be the keeper of the jewel'? That was not likely to go over well.

She hadn't talked about it in so long. Once it was over, it was just… over. She was out of all of their lives and that was the end of it. She'd _had_ to move on with her life, forget about everything that had happened and forget about _them._

It simply hurt too much.

When she returned and was finally able to focus on her schoolwork again, she had dropped into the 50th percentile, something that, had she had less understanding parents, would have killed her.

If she were really honest with herself, she knew she'd barely gotten into college at all. Nobody wanted a former invalid who had a bad habit of missing classes for weeks on end and then proceeded to perform sub-standard on exams. It was only her excellence in the subject of Warring States era history that had saved her from a life of flipping burgers and attempting to marry well.

And part of her resented that. The only thing she was capable of doing well was using the knowledge she'd gained from her shard-searching days, and that knowledge was what kept her from pursuing other things she might have been better at.

But here she was, and regardless of whatever plan destiny had for her, she had to deal with the situation at hand.

She replayed Yamato's memory in her head. Who was the guardian he'd mentioned? She doubted he even knew what he was talking about, but clearly he was reaching for something… was he talking about her? Or Kikyou?

And what about those two men? Dr. Yamato had mentioned her by name… if they decided he was talking about her, then she was in significantly more danger than she had previously thought.

She furrowed her brow. _Her purity lighting the darkness of the hearts of men?_

Midoriko, perhaps?

No.

_No._

It wasn't possible. There was no way she brought the jewel back with her.

'It couldn't be that…' she thought. 'I placed it in Inuyasha's hands, turned and left, to do with as he saw fit.'

She closed her eyes tightly, her stomach swirling with denial and anger.

Because there was no way to know what his wish was, or if it came true.

There were no records of Inuyasha, none aside from the ones she'd heard in her childhood at the shrine: a half-demon fell in love with a miko, was pinned to a tree and was set free by another miko who looked disturbingly like the previous one. The second _miko_ shattered the _shikon no tama_, and they worked to complete it again, defeating a hideous monster in the process.

All of her academic studies of the legend said the same thing: there was no ending. The stories all just _stopped_ with Naraku's defeat. The jewel disappeared.

Up until now, she'd assumed it was because Inuyasha wished to become human for Kikyou's sake and they lived out their lives in quiet anonymity.

Kagome shut her eyes tightly, hand flying to her face as she realized that maybe, just maybe, she'd been _wrong._

That man who'd attacked her in the alley… he'd said that they knew for a fact that she knew it wasn't just a legend.

They _knew._ They had to know who she was. She would _have _to tell Harry and the others, and soon.

She whimpered and trembled and slid under the blankets. _Why can't it just be _over

It was childish and she didn't want to admit it, but all she ever really wanted was for it to be over. Maybe, if she could forget, then she could move on.

And apparently, she still hadn't moved on, even after all these years.

Harry stood in Kagome's kitchen, pondering the box of powdered cocoa in his hands.

The Dursley's used to keep this kind of stuff around for Dudley, but Harry hated it and he was pretty sure he had some leftover Honeydukes chocolate in his suitcase.

After rummaging through his pack and locating the half bar of chocolate, he grabbed the saucepan Kagome had left in the drying rack the night before and the carton of milk out of the refrigerator and set to work.

He tried to review the events of the day as he melted the chocolate, but his mind simply could not wrap itself around it.

Find the Guardian? What in the bloody hell was the Professor talking about?

Was he talking about the priestess that was in love with the half-demon? But which one? Weren't they both in love with the half-demon? Or just the first one?

Harry shook his head, attempting to clear it. That love triangle was just a bit more complicated than he cared to think about at the present moment.

The professor had also said "Her purity lighting the darkness of the hearts of men." Was he talking about the Jewel or the Guardian?

He knew that the Jewel purified demons, did that mean that the Jewel also purified the evil out of human hearts as well?

And round and round it went.

He stirred the milk in with the melting chocolate and attempted to locate some rum but unfortunately didn't find any. Apparently, Kagome wasn't much of a drinker. He did find some cinnamon in a cabinet and stirred that in as well. It really began to smell wonderful and Harry was rather pleased with himself. If he were a normal boy, and Kagome a normal girl, he could almost see himself making this for a cozy night by the fire, but he wasn't normal, and apparently neither was she.

He remembered the night they were attacked after their first (and only) date. What did that goon in the alley mean when he said that Kagome knew where the Jewel was before? He recalled her mentioning that it had been kept at her family shrine, but those were just local legends as far as he knew. So what was the true story and did his newest roommate know the answer? And how was she involved, because clearly she must be, and…

Headache.

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose while he finished stirring his concoction in the saucepan. He just couldn't make sense of the ideas swirling in his head.

He wanted to believe this was all just Malfoy's latest grab at power, but he sensed something more sinister was going on, and that Kagome held the key.

Unfortunately, it also seemed that she was keeping a significant amount of information from him.

He grabbed two mugs out of the cupboard above the sink and poured the drinks and resolved that he would find out what she'd been keeping from him as quickly as possible. She had to understand the danger that she, that _they_ were in, and if there was anything age had taught him, it was that going into battle and not knowing what was going on was the absolute _worst_ thing to do.

However, he found his resolve quickly dissipating upon entry to the bedroom and finding Kagome curled up in the fetal position under her comforter.

He sat down on the side of her bed and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Kagome whimpered slightly, and something loosened in his chest and he exhaled sharply as she slid out from underneath the blankets.

He'd never seen her quite this sad… this _open._

This was his chance, he had to take it, he had to…

She wiped a few stray tears from her eyes, and sat herself up and leaned against the headboard and he just couldn't bring himself to say anything.

He looked at her and she _knew_. She knew that she had to tell him about whatever was going on, that she was planning to tell him.

So, he handed her the mug of hot chocolate silently and tried his very best to be patient and wait for her to say something.

She sipped her drink slowly. "Mmm… this tastes wonderful, Harry," she murmured. "The best hot chocolate I've ever had, what did you do?"

This was not how this conversation was supposed to go.

"I cheated," he said, flushing slightly. "I melted some Honeydukes chocolate that I had in my pack instead of that powdered stuff in your cupboard."

"Honeydukes?" she asked.

"Yes, it's a shop in Hogsmeade, near Hogwarts, where Ron, Hermione and I went to school. They specialize in some of the most delectable sweets you will ever taste," he said, running his fingers through his messy hair nervously. _Get back on task, you git._

"I see," she said, clearly amused that his action actually made his hair stick up even more, not less. "I would love to see your school someday, it sounds marvelous."

"It's a beautiful place," he said wistfully, before he could catch himself. "We'll go there one day when this whole shikon mess is worked out." He blanched, "Er, that is to say you still want to see me after this is over."

There it was again. That tightening in his chest, that undeniable something he felt whenever he was around her. He was absolutely terrified of her saying no and saying yes all at the same time.

"Of course I'll want to see you," she replied matter-of-factly, looking away, reddening slightly. "Don't be silly."

Harry surprised himself at the sheer relief he felt hearing that. He smiled, but then forced himself to get back to business.

"Kagome," he began lightly. "We need to talk." She nodded faintly, staring into her half-empty mug.

"I know," she whispered. "But can it at least wait until the morning?" She looked up, truly looking at him for the first time all day. Her eyes were open and clear and blue and fearful and just so _sad._

He heard himself acquiesce before he realized he'd done it.

"How about a movie?"

Kagome immediately brightened. "That sounds wonderful, Harry."

Two hours and a bowl of popcorn later, the movie ended and Harry found himself in the most precarious position: next to Kagome on the bed, his arm around her, and her head nestled into the crook of his shoulder.

She'd fallen asleep during one of the action sequences (Merlin only knew how) and he'd been perfectly happy to let her use him as a pillow, but now the gentleman in him knew he had to put her to sleep in her own bed and migrate to his makeshift bed in the living room, much to the dismay of his non-gentleman side.

He reluctantly disengaged himself from her grasp and tucked her into her comforter before moving to the living room and falling into his own bed, exhausted and anxious. He tossed and turned for a few minutes, trying to find a comfortable position, and eventually fell into a fitful sleep.

In his dream, Harry was standing in a clearing in a rather ancient forest near a dry well.

He knew he'd never been to this place before, but it felt familiar somehow. He'd grown used to lucid dreams over the years, but even this one was a bit stranger than usual. It didn't feel normal, it didn't feel like _his._

There were some people standing nearby, and he'd already tried talking to them, but to his dismay they couldn't hear him or see him. The four of them simply continued talking in a language he couldn't understand.

Two members of the party were clearly not human. One was a child with a tail and the other was a very unruly teenager clad in red with puppy-dog ears. The other two were dressed in strange clothes, even by wizard standards, but seemed fairly normal otherwise.

He recognized the teenager as the _hanyou_ from the legend of the Jewel as seen in the painting that hung in Kagome's office, as well as the demon huntress and the monk. He'd never seen the child before, though, and also noted that the _miko_ was missing from their group.

'Perhaps they are waiting for her,' he thought.

He began listening to their conversation again, and this time he was finally able to discern at least one of their names – _Inuyasha_. The _hanyou_'s name was Inuyasha.

He furrowed his brow, 'Hadn't Kagome mentioned an Inuyasha at one point?' He couldn't remember.

Suddenly, he saw a bright pink light out of the corner of his eye.

_The well!_ The well was filled with a bright pink light, and then slowly faded.

The child scurried past Harry and leaped onto the ledge of the well and yelled, "Kagome!"

_Kagome?_

Sure enough, a few moments later, Kagome climbed out of the well. But this Kagome was young, young enough to be in school. She wore a sailor shirt of some sort and…

Harry tried to avert his eyes and wondered briefly at the sanity of a school system that allowed the girls' uniform skirts to be so short.

Kagome embraced the child heartily and greeted the others, who all walked over to her and seemed very happy to see her, save Inuyasha who only grunted in her general direction. He saw her frown quickly before smiling at the other woman and began talking to her.

It was then that he noticed – she wore the Jewel around her neck. Or part of it anyway, there was a large chunk missing.

The group continued to chatter for a few more minutes before another woman, bow slung over her should, appeared and the group grew very quiet. Harry recognized this woman as the _miko _from the painting, but there was something odd about her, something not quite right.

She walked right up to Kagome and said something in a cold, low voice. Kagome took a shaky step backward, but her legs hit the side of the dry well.

The others began yelling at the _miko, (_somewhere in the back of his mind he deduced that her name was Kikyou), but she merely raised her hand and they were all thrown back. He could she was totally focused on the Jewel around Kagome's neck. Kagome's eyes dart around frantically, but Kikyou only laughed. Her hand shot out and in one swift moment, Kikyou had grabbed the Jewel and torn it away from Kagome and pushed Kagome backwards into the well.

Harry ran toward her, but just barely missed her hand as she fell down into the black depths of the well. The last thing he heard before the world around him faded to black was Kagome screaming.

Harry jerked awake, eyes bleary, and found himself back in Kagome's living room in his bed, but he could still hear Kagome's screams ringing in his ears.

Except… it wasn't the memory of the screams he was hearing… Kagome was _actually_ screaming.

Harry jumped out of bed and rushed to the door to her room and saw her in the throes of a nightmare.

In a flash, he was at her side, shaking her, trying to get her to wake up, desperate and afraid of something he couldn't quite name. The feeling of foreboding that had been haunting him all day seemed to collect at the pit of his stomach, dark and heavy.

She opened her eyes. "Kagome," he breathed. She looked at him, confused and frantic. "Kagome, it's Harry." He whispered. "It's Harry, Kagome. You're okay now."

"Harry," she whimpered and threw her arms around him. "Harry, oh Harry. It was awful." She hiccupped and buried her head even deeper into the crook where his shoulder met his neck and he wrapped his arms around her, one hand on her running up and down her back and the other stroking her hair.

"It's alright, Kagome, it was only a dream," he whispered in her ear. "Sleep. Go back to sleep."

She cried a bit more in his arms, but she eventually fell asleep. Harry tried to quietly disengage himself from her, but she had a very strong grip. He slowly pried her hand away from his shirt and walked back to his bed in the living room and sat on his bed.

_You prat, you could have stayed, _Harry thought, but then grimaced. It was likely she wouldn't remember the incident in the morning, and to be honest… he just didn't trust himself to sleep next to her all night as he was not in the right frame of mind to even begin thinking about that kind of thing at this hour.

He crawled into his own bed and wrapped himself in the thick blankets, and as he drifted off to sleep again he found himself wondering if they'd had the same dream.


	10. Chapter 8: Revelation

**A/N**: I'm so sorry this took so long, it was a major pain in the ass to write, and since it's such a pivotal chapter, I wanted it to be right. Enjoy!

**Light in Dark Places**

By Eilan-san

ooo

_**Chapter 8: Revelation**_

_And all the roads we have to walk along are winding;_

_And all the lights that lead us there are blinding._

_There are many things that I would like to say to you, _

_But I don't know how…_

_Because maybe _

_You're gonna be the one who saves me._

_--Oasis, "Wonderwall"_

ooo

"Could you please be a little more helpful?" Kagome said huffily as she went through the piles of papers on the desk in her university office. "I cannot for the life of me remember where that other book went… Hermione will throttle me if I've truly lost a library book."

Harry grimaced just thinking about Hermione's reaction to a lost library book and began scanning the bookshelves on the wall for _A Treatise on the Subject of Magic in Japanese Mythological Creatures. _He was not looking forward to reading this book. For some reason, the British seemed to excel at making book titles ridiculously uninteresting.

_Realm of the Rising Sun: Japanese Myth_ … _The Tale of Genji_… he lingered on the _Anthology of Japanese Literature: From the Earliest Era to the Mid-Nineteenth Century_ by Donald Keene, remembering Kagome's bright smile and her worn yellow backpack that fateful morning at the Underground. A lot had changed since then and he couldn't really tell whether the changes were good or bad at this point.

The morning hadn't gone well. Kagome apparently hadn't remembered her nightmare the night before, and when she awoke claimed she had a horrific headache and hadn't slept well the night before either. She had been on edge, snapping at everything and everyone (especially him, it seemed) at every opportune moment. Granted, that was when she actually would talk to him… she'd been avoiding him all day.

He continued to skim through the book titles on the shelves of her office, going from one shelf to the next. As he moved from one bookcase to one on the far wall, something caught his eye. It was the print of the seekers of the _shikon no tama_; he'd seen it before, the first time he'd been in her office, but something was different, off.

He peered closer, his breath like fire in his lungs, as he realized he _recognized_ them. The people in the print looked _exactly_ like they had in his dream the night before. He was shocked, actually, at the level of detail with which he'd remembered them.

Kikyou and Inuyasha were there in their robes along with the demon huntress and her giant boomerang, and the monk in his robes. The figures were so eerily familiar; he could hear their voices echo in his head, loud and clear and resonant.

Still, something was missing. He counted, _1, 2, 3, 4 seekers of the Jewel… _Then it occurred to him: there had been five seekers in his dream, not four. The priestess, the half-demon, the monk and the demon huntress and…

In the dream Kagome had been there, but he understood Kagome not being in the print; he reasoned he'd just imagined her being there. Someone else was missing, _but who?_

"Kagome?" he asked without turning around.

"Hmm?"

"Shouldn't there be someone else in this print? I thought there were five seekers of the _shikon no tama_, not four?" _There was a child… a demon child._

Kagome gasped and Harry turned around to see her gaping at him with very large eyes and her hand covering her mouth, but the moment he met her eyes she averted her gaze and gazed intently at the floor.

"W… why would you say that?" she stuttered, visibly squirming.

"Well," he started, unsure of how to say what he wanted to say. "I, er, I just remember five seekers of the jewel, the four pictured here and a child, and I noticed that the child was missing from the print." He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "But I could be wrong."

He looked at her and although she was still staring at the ground, he could see that all the color had drained from her face and her knuckles white from grabbing onto the edge of the desk to steady herself.

"I know I never said anything about a fifth person, much less a child. Where did you get that idea, Harry?" she asked intensely.

"Really, Kagome, it's not that important. It was just a dream," he responded, turning back to the bookshelf, cursing at himself for letting the fact that it was a dream slip and praying for her to just drop the subject.

"I don't think so," she said quietly.

"What was that?" he asked, turning back around and stepping toward her. _Look at me, please?_ He put his hands on her shoulders, and she turned into him, but she still would only look at his chest, never his face.

_Why won't you look at me?_ He thought miserably. The tension in the air between them was almost unbearable.

Her face was contorted, and she started to look up and say something, but before she could answer him there was a large crack as Hermione apparated into the office.

"Oh, thank goodness I caught you!" Hermione breathed heavily, her bushy hair flying around her face and she was waving a piece of paper in the air above her head.

Kagome stepped quickly away from Harry and sat down gingerly in the chair behind her desk; Harry just hung his head, silently both mourning the loss of the moment and swearing at Hermione for her impeccably bad timing.

"Hi, Hermione," he said dryly.

Hermione, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice, and continued unperturbed. "I have incontrovertible proof that Draco did, in fact, take a trip to Japan recently… he visited on Ministry business back in January."

Harry furrowed his brow, "He did?" He strode over to her to take a look at the piece of paper Hermione held out for him.

He scanned the parchment… Draco had been meeting with a prominent banking witch from the area near Tokyo, apparently trying to broker some kind of ambassadorship program there.

"She's right, Kagome," he said. "He was gone for almost a month…" He quirked an eyebrow and looked back at Hermione. "But what I don't understand is how Draco managed to be possessed by a demon. He may be a git, but he's certainly not stupid."

"It wouldn't have taken much," Kagome said faintly, her voice muffled as she lifted her head out of her hands and glanced out the window.

Hermione, realizing that something was amiss, looked quickly between Harry and Kagome with a puzzled expression.

Harry shook his head at Hermione, willing her not to ask, and was relieved when she held her tongue. He looked back at Kagome, his chest tightening and wondering what she was thinking.

"But I suppose it depends on the type of demon… demons only have the power to possess you if there is darkness in your heart, and Draco certainly fits that motif," Kagome said tiredly, glancing back at Hermione.

Hermione cleared her throat, attempting to recover, "Regardless, you have both received new orders." Hermione dug through her purse and produced two more pieces of paper, and handed one to Harry and the other to Kagome.

"I have orders?" Kagome asked doubtfully, scrutinizing the paper. "I'm not a member of your ministry, how do I have orders?"

"We've been ordered to go to Tokyo and investigate some more," Harry said incredulously.

"Well, I suppose it's not an order, but you two really are in the best position to investigate this mess…" Hermione supplied anxiously. "Nobody knows more about this situation that the two of you, and since you're from there, Kagome, you know more about the area than any of us."

Kagome sighed. "I suppose that's good, my mother will be happy to see me, and my grandfather might be able to help us."

Hermione looked at Kagome with a perplexed look on her face. "So, do you believe all of this is real now, Kagome?" Hermione asked gently.

Harry was suddenly very aware of his heart pounding, and the feeling, knowing, in his bones that something important was about to happen, something was about to change his life drastically and he was excited and nervous and _afraid. _He tried to shake it off, but the feeling persisted.

Kagome paused, and then looked up and finally for the first time that day, she met Harry's gaze unswervingly, and his breath caught in his throat. "I never doubted it," she said slowly, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

Something deep within his chest released in a short, sharp burst, and he exhaled little by little as he looked at her full on for what seemed like the first time.

The connection he felt was incredible… exhilarating, really. It felt just like flying on his Firebolt, and from the look in her eyes, she felt it too. He wanted to say something, anything, but his mouth felt like it was full of sand and nothing would come out.

Hermione cleared her throat, "Er, I will go inform Ron that you have accepted your assignments. I'll have a portkey for you shortly," she said, plainly uncomfortable, and then with a crack she was gone.

There was a pregnant pause; neither of them wanting to disengage from the connection between them.

"Kagome," Harry whispered, "What's going on?"

She smiled slightly, "Do you really think I know?"

"You feel it too?" he asked warily.

"This bond between us? Oh, Harry, I'd have to be completely spiritually dead for me to not feel that," she responded, flushing slightly. "Actually, I've been avoiding it all day."

Harry set his jaw, feeling unexpectedly bold. "You… you aren't just a muggle are you?"

Kagome bit her lip. "If you are asking if I am an ordinary human, then no, I suppose not."

"Will you tell me?" He tried to keep the sheer hopefulness out of his voice, but he doubted it worked.

"Maybe…" her eyes dancing around the room nervously. "Maybe I could show you? With the pensieve? There are some memories I have that would probably explain it better than I could."

Harry nodded. "We'll have to go back to the ministry for that, although I can transfigure a lot of things, a pensieve is too complicated for me," he said.

Kagome quickly agreed and grabbed a few books to take with them on their trip, and they were on their way. The tube ride to the ministry was uneventful, with fits and starts in the conversation, and the occasional nervous twitch from one or both of them.

When they arrived outside of Harry's office, he almost felt like he was experiencing his first kiss all over again for all the butterflies in his stomach. He let them in and began drawing the shades.

"Your office is almost as bad as mine," Kagome said, looking around at the mess strewn about the desk.

"What?" Harry asked, still mildly dazed. "Oh. Yes, I'm just as bad as you are about that." He smiled at her briefly. "Would you mind clearing off the desk? You can just stack the papers on that chair in the corner."

She dutifully picked up a pile on the corner of the desk and moved it to the chair by the bookcase as instructed. "It's nice knowing that wizards aren't that different from the rest of us," she said. "We really are all the same in most respects."

When the area was mostly clear, Harry pulled the pensieve out of its cabinet and placed it in the center of the desk and took out his wand.

"I'm a little scared," Kagome confessed. "How does this work?"

"I'm going to need you to focus on the memory you want to show me," he instructed.

Kagome nodded nervously and closed her eyes. Harry placed the tip of his wand to her temple and slowly, but surely, drew the silvery white strand of her memory out and added it to the basin.

"You can open your eyes now," he said. "I've placed the memory into the pensieve, and now it'll be just like before."

"Right," she said shakily. "Shall we?"

"We don't…" Harry started fretfully, "We don't have to do this."

"No," she said, shaking her head vigorously. "It's important. It's important for you to see this… so you can understand. I should not have kept it from you this long anyway."

Harry nodded and placed his arm around her waist, took a deep breath, and leaned forward.

When they landed, he saw that he was in a shrine or temple of some sort. There was a white house off behind him and a large tree to his right. In front of him there was a small building similar to a what he imagined a traditional Japanese house would look like, but it was too small to be a house. The breeze blew lightly through the trees and he was overcome by a feeling of deep peacefulness.

'This must be holy ground,' he thought. He turned to look at Kagome quizzically. "Where are we?" he asked.

"This is my home," she said with a sense of absolutely utter calm. "This is where I grew up." She paused. "Harry?"

"Yes, Kagome?" he asked, suddenly afraid when she looked up at him so intently from beneath her lashes.

"This is probably going to change everything," she warned.

"I know," he said simply, and he realized the he didn't really care. He was on the cusp of something huge and inevitable and there was nothing else in the world he wanted more than to simply fall over the edge into the abyss of whatever was going to happen next.

She gingerly took his hand and held it over her heart and placed her hand over his heart and he was almost overwhelmed by the rush of energy between them. He was dizzy and everything was brighter and…

"It's okay, Harry, just breathe," she smiled up at him and he let go of the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

Kagome laughed, the tinkling sound filling his ears. "This is my childhood, Harry. You are seeing with my eyes, through my heart."

He felt another dizzying rush of energy and suddenly everything is a whirlwind of image and sound… a young Kagome, dressed in a school uniform goes into the well house to search for her cat, only to be pulled into the well by a monster. Then, he is tumbling through the well after her and sees her find the demon Inuyasha pinned to a tree with a magical arrow. He experienced her innocent joy at playing with the _hanyou_'s ears as he sleeps and her terror when she is attacked by the centipede demon again.

He saw everything – the discovery of the jewel inside her and its shattering and the beginnings of her adventures with Inuyasha and their companions: Miroku, the monk, Sango the demon huntress and Shippou, the fox demon child.

The names resonate in his heart as true as his own name, and he feels nothing but clarity as each aspect of Kagome's journey is revealed to him: Naraku, the revived Kikyou, and all the rest – like he'd always known these stories as well as he knew his own.

He is filled with joy as watches her fall in love for the firs titme, and he is torn apart by her sorrow as Inuyasha chooses the revived Kikyou over and over again and her unending feelings of inadequacy next to the priestess.

The elation he feels at the final defeat of Naraku and his incarnations and the completion of the Jewel, the completion of her journeys in this land, are rivaled only by his feelings of joy at the end of the battles with his own nemesis.

And finally, he watched, his heart breaking right along with her, as she handed Inuyasha the completed _shikon no tama _and told him, in that achingly sweet and so self-sacrificing way of hers, to take the Jewel and be happy with Kikyou in whatever way he deemed fit before jumping in the well without looking back.

And he knew that her life afterward was never the same after that… much like his life was never truly the same once Voldemort had been defeated.

He felt a tug on his sleeve and looked down to see Kagome looking at him with a sad smile. "It's time to go."

He nodded and brought them out of the pensieve. They were both quiet for a long while, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, it was Kagome that broke the silence.

"For the record, I have no idea of those men are after me or not. I haven't seen the Jewel in nearly five hundred years," she said. "I don't where it is, or what happened to it, and I know I'm not the Guardian anymore." She grimaced, "But I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier."

Harry closed his eyes tightly, the ramifications of her revelations in their current situation hitting home. "It may not matter who the Guardian actually is. They may come after you anyway," he said.

"I know," she said. "But I've never told anyone but my family until now, and there isn't anything in the public record about me, so we can hope that they don't find out."

"Trust me, it's probably better that way." Harry's lips curved into a smile. "Fame isn't nearly as much fun as you'd think."

"You're probably right," Kagome sighed. "It's getting late, we should probably go home."

Harry agreed and they made their way back to Kagome's flat in silence. Upon arriving they found the portkey (an old trainer) and a note from Hermione saying that it was for 10:00 am sharp the following morning, so they make arrangements to get up at 9:00 and pack a bit for the trip before dressing for bed.

"Will you be alright tonight, Kagome?" Harry asked as they were starting to wind down for the night.

"If I'm not I'll call," she responded teasingly as she went in her room, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Oyasumi nasai, Harry."

Harry smiled, "Goodnight, Kagome." He pulled back the sheets on his bed and settled in, his mind drifting to the memory he'd seen that day, and as he fell asleep all he could think of was Kagome.

When he dreamt this time, he was in a dark fog. He could barely make out a shape moving in the fog farther off, but other than that there was nothing. He couldn't even see the ground beneath his feet.

As the shape in the fog moved closer, he saw that it was Kagome. As she came into view, she looked right at him and he was hit by a torrent of anger and epic sadness, feelings that he recognized had been simmering under the surface of the memory he'd seen that afternoon.

"Not everyone is so lucky, you know," she said resolutely as he struggled under the weight of her surging emotions of hate and betrayal and love and grief for the things and people she'd lost, but especially for Inuyasha. "You are remembered and held up as a hero for saving the world; no one even is even aware of the sacrifices I made to save my world."

It was getting to be more than he could take… the weight was almost crushing him now and although the hate wasn't directed at him, his heart was beginning to throb painfully in his chest and he dropped to his knees. It felt so much like legilimency, but he wasn't seeing her memories, just feeling her emotions.

"Kagome, please stop," Harry pleaded, "Please stop, it hurts so much…"

"I'm not doing anything," she whispered, looking at him sorrowfully.

Her aura was flaring a dark, deep purple and as he looked around himself, his was as well.

"There's so much darkness," she whispered again, and then looked at him, "There's darkness in you too."

"Not all darkness, though," he said, his face contorted painfully. "Not in you either."

"Sometimes I'm not sure," she said, walking over to him and kneeling in front of him.

"See, it's right here." She pointed to her chest, and he saw that the area over her heart was covered in black. But, to his surprise, when he looked at his own chest, his heart was also covered.

He met Kagome's eyes and tried to reach out for her, but his hands were repulsed by the aura.

"Why can't I touch you?" he asked.

"I don't know," she replied. She tried to take his hands, but she was also repulsed by his aura.

Kagome began to cry. "Why… why is it always the people I get close to, I can't touch?"

She let out an agonized wail and abruptly he was back in his bed, sitting straight up and wide-awake.

He rushed quickly into Kagome's bedroom, and saw her sitting up, also awake and panting heavily.

They stared at each other for a long moment, and Harry was unsure of what to do. He was afraid to touch her, but he was afraid not to touch her, he needed the assurance that she was real that what he was feeling was real, even if he couldn't quite put a name to it, so when she opened her arms to him, he immediately crawled onto the bed and hugged her as hard as he could as she buried her face in his chest.

"That wasn't just a dream, was it?" he asked softly, and felt her shake her head. "He hurt you very, very badly, didn't he?"

Kagome hesitated and then nodded miserably. "I gave up so much; my chances of doing well in school, of having normal friends, of having a normal _life._ It wasn't just because of my duty, although that was part of it, most of it was for him. That maybe if I loved him enough, he would be able to see past the fact that he had a promise to keep, and finally see Kagome instead of Kikyou."

She sighed and snuggled closer. "No one has ever really seen me, though. I've always been either Kikyou's reincarnation, or just a normal teenager, neither of which is truly who I am."

Harry inhaled slowly as he realized that he was standing on the precipice of the abyss he'd felt earlier, looking over the edge of something unknowable.

Out of all the people in the world, he knew she understood. That she was likely the only person who would _ever_ understand that part of him, and the moment that hit him, he felt himself start to fall over the brink.

"I also know about sacrifice. I lost everyone I ever loved because of a stupid prophecy and some idiot bent on world-domination. I'll never know my parents because of him."

He was surprised to discover that he was crying, which only made Kagome cry and hug him harder, until they both collapsed down on the bed in each other's arms; both grieving for each other and for their own lost innocence, but also crying in relief of finally finding someone else who understood.

They fell asleep wrapped up in each other's arms and neither moved till morning.


	11. Chapter 9: Koikokoro

**(A/N): **Just one word: Fluff. You have been warned.

**Light in Dark Places**

By: Eilan-san

ooo

_**Chapter 9:**_ **Koikokoro**

_And how can I stand here with you _

_And not be moved by you?_

_Would you tell me how could it be _

_Any better than this?_

_--Lifehouse, "Everything"_

ooo

Kagome awoke to sunlight streaming through her window and an incredibly adorable Harry next to her with his arm slung casually around her waist and his hair spread out wildly over the pillow.

She giggled softly. It was a rare sight to see him in such a state of peace and appreciated the moment, however brief it would end up being.

She just felt so… _happy. _Happier than she'd been in a very, very long time. She was finally relaxed, and it felt better than she ever thought it could. She hadn't realized how much the stress of keeping her past life a secret was bottled up in side her; ready to explode at a moment's notice.

The night before had been, well… amazing. She was giddy and happy and all sorts of other feelings were bubbling up inside her from parts of her that she'd assumed died years ago. She didn't really know what was going to happen next, but she knew that although they'd come from different worlds, with different experiences, that he was someone very special.

She smiled and stretched and lazily rolled over to see what time it was, but the clock on her bedside table read "9:30 AM" loud and clear. She screeched and jumped out of the bed, nearly falling on the floor, scrambling to find the bag she'd half-packed the night before.

"Wha… Kagome, what's going on?" Harry asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes.

"It's 9:30, Harry, we overslept!" she said, looking around the room frantically for the extra t-shirts she'd set aside before she'd gone to bed.

Harry glanced at the clock to confirm before also jumping out of bed. "We'll make it, don't worry," he said as he strode into the living room to gather his things together.

"However, I guess that means no showers for us, then?" He called from the other room a few minutes later.

"Probably not. You might want to brush your hair, though." She called back to him, smiling as she located the stack of shirts she was looking for and tossed them into her duffel bag and zipping it shut.

Harry walked back in the room, with a small messenger-style bag slung over his shoulder and leaning on the doorframe. "You should try combing it, I've never had any luck with it, not even with magic. It's determined to be as untidy as possible."

"Well, I guess you'll just have to meet my mother with unkempt hair. Nothing to be done," she shrugged and smiled. "How did you manage to fit all of your stuff into that tiny bag?" she asked.

"Magic," Harry replied after a beat, head cocked and looking at her quizzically. Kagome just burst out laughing.

"That is still going to take some getting used to," she said chuckling, quickly checking the time and noting thankfully that they had another five minutes or so.

"Let me grab my toothbrush and we'll be on our way," she said as she walked into the bathroom to grab a few other toiletries and shoved them into the side pocket of her bag.

At 10:00 am on the nose, she and Harry were holding onto the trainer portkey, bags and all, and were transported to the Japanese Ministry of Magic.

They touched down softly in a landing area set aside from the main lobby. The room was a large white atrium with a fountain in the middle, shooting water in different directions in rhythm with the ambient music that seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere. The wall across from them was made up completely of windows, but no one seemed to be able to see them; or at least, no one was looking in the windows. Outside, she saw the busy streets of Tokyo.

A young woman dressed in a traditional furisode came over to greet them.

"Ohayo gozaimasu!" Kagome said cheerfully, quickly assuming the role of translator. "Higurashi Kagome to Poteru Hari desu."

"Yoroshiku onegai shimasu," the young woman said and bowed slightly, smiling as she did so. Switching into English, she continued, "I am Aiko Minamoto. Welcome to Tokyo, Potter-san, Higurashi-san, we've been expecting you. I trust your trip went smoothly?"

"Yes, it was just fine, thank you," Harry supplied. "My friend Hermione Granger-Weasley speaks very highly of the Minister here."

"Ah, yes, Weasley-san is a wonderful lady. She alerted us to the nature of your visit to Japan, and we would like you to know that we are at your service, Potter-san." Minamoto-san continued. "Shall we begin with a translation spell, sir?"

"Translation spell?" Kagome asked, perplexed. "Oh! I forgot to teach you any Japanese, I just assumed I'd play translator for you."

Harry threw her a lopsided grin. "Thankfully, no," he teased and Kagome pouted.

"It's pretty standard fare for wizard travel these days." A smirk blossomed on his face, "Don't tell anyone, but Ron had to have one cast on him when he and Hermione went to Paris for their honeymoon. He tried to speak French for about five minutes before Hermione gave up and forced him to have the spell cast on him."

Kagome giggled as she tried to imagine Ron reading from a guidebook and speaking in incredibly broken French. "I'm assuming that's why you didn't ask me to teach you any Japanese before we left."

"Yes, ma'am. I have heard stories about many an Englishman who came to Japan and thoroughly insulted someone without knowing it, so I decided to play it safe." Harry explained. "All I picked up was that you address someone by the surname and not their given name unless you know them really well."

"Japanese is not an easy language," Kagome agreed.

"Although this should be interesting," he added, gesturing to Minamoto-san, "I've never heard anyone perform a spell in another language before."

Minamoto-san smiled politely, "It's quite simple really. The actual verbiage of the incantations don't matter; it's the intent behind the spells. The words are used as a mental focal point for the intention of the spellcaster. When the a spell is cast in England, according to the English tradition the spell is performed in Latin." She took a beautiful long cherry wand out from the sleeve of her _furisode_, "When a spell is cast in Japan, the incantation is in Japanese."

Pointing the wand at Harry, she waved it in a quick star shape before bowing and uttering, "_Wakari Nihongo onegai shimasu._" A quick shower of silver sparks flew out of her wand and formed a halo around Harry before dissipating.

"Please say something in Japanese, Higurashi-san," Minamoto-san instructed.

Kagome wracked her brain, "Sashimi wo tabemasu ka?" She supposed it was a decent question, considering she had no idea if he even liked sushi.

"What is sashimi? If I know what it is, I might be inclined to eat it," Harry replied, smiling, while Kagome gawked. Harry now seemed to speak flawless Japanese, completely unaccented. If she didn't know better, she would have thought he was a native speaker.

"Harry, that's incredible!" Kagome exclaimed excitedly, grateful to finally be able to converse with Harry in the language she was most comfortable in. "Your Japanese is perfect!"

"There is a caveat to the spell," Minamoto-san interjected, also switching back to Japanese. "If there is no corresponding word in the language of the person whom the spell is cast upon, such as _sashimi, _then it will remain untranslated to the person's ear. You will likely still hear local food specialties and other concepts native to Japan in Japanese."

"I suppose that makes sense," Harry said, rubbing his chin. "What is _sashimi_, then?"

"Raw fish." Kagome said and Harry made a face, which caused Minamoto-san and Kagome to chuckle. "It's really quite good."

"I'll have to take your word on that," Harry said, sticking his nose in the air.

"There is only one more thing," Minamoto-san said as she dug into her other sleeve and extracted a small booklet and an envelope. "Here is your passport, Potter-san. It functions much like a normal passport with the exception of this particular button." She opened it up to demonstrate and pointed out a bright red circle on the inside cover. "If you have any difficulties, just press this button and a member of the consulate will be able to assist you. In the envelope is a map of the city and some other tourist attractions you may be interested in seeing while you're here." She handed the passport and the envelope to Harry.

"Thank you, Minamoto-san," he said, pocketing the passport.

"Please have a lovely stay in Japan, sir," she said, bowing again. "And welcome home, Higurashi-san."

"Thank you very much, Minamoto-san," Kagome said as she politely returned the bow before moving out of the landing area to a bench near the fountain, Harry in tow. "I have to say that it is quite nice to be able to speak to you in my native language and have you understand me," she said, plopping down on the bench. "Can you continue to use the spell after we go back to London?"

"I don't know; I don't see why not," Harry said, sitting down next to her.

"That's good to know," Kagome replied. "Now, the next question is, where are we?"

Harry drew out the map from his pocket and opened it. She wasn't too surprised to discover that the map was magical. Each street was marked very clearly and she figured out that when she said a particular thing she was interested in, such as food or temples, the map immediately lit up with all the ones in the surrounding area. There were even two small figures labeled Higurashi-san and Potter-san corresponding to where they were.

"This is amazing Harry! I really may get used to this whole magic thing," Kagome said. "Can you read this? It's in kanji."

Harry peered closer at the map, "It looks like it's in plain English to me, Roman letters and all."

Kagome was impressed. If only she'd had that spell when she'd first moved to England, maybe she wouldn't have had so much trouble those first few months.

After looking the map over thoroughly, she was able to identify the street they were on and then devised their route to the Shrine. The Ministry was clear on the other side of town from the Shrine and they would have to take the subway to nearby her old high school and then they would have to walk the rest of the way.

"It's odd though, I wonder how I missed this place?" she murmured.

"It's likely that it has a charm on it, perhaps a cloaking charm," Harry explained. "That way, people who shouldn't be here can't just walk in. You have to know where you're going."

Kagome nodded, "That makes sense." She stood and stowed the map in one of the compartments of her bag. "You know, it occurred to me that I haven't called my mother. She doesn't even know I'm here."

Harry grimaced, "Will she be upset?"

Kagome smiled. "Likely not. My mother is used to surprises from me by now," she said wryly, as Harry stood and they began heading towards the door. "If we're lucky, my brother may be over for dinner as well."

"Ah, yes, I remember you telling me about your brother that day on the underground. He's the soccer nut, right?" Harry said, following her through the glass doors and out into the busy Tokyo streets.

"That's Souta, alright," Kagome said, directing him to turn left at the intersection ahead of them. "He's in his first year of college now at Tokyo University, and from what Mama tells me, he's never home."

"From what I understand, that's fairly typical for a college student," Harry responded and then paused. "Can I ask a silly question?"

"Sure," Kagome frowned, trying to work her way through the crowds.

Harry grabbed her hand and moved closer as she immediately blushed from head to toe.

"What's with all the vending machines?"

Kagome just about lost it.

"No, really," Harry said, trying very hard to keep a straight face. "There's one every one hundred feet."

Regaining her composure enough to speak, she gasped out, "I don't know. Maybe we just don't like being thirsty."

She wondered how many other quirks about Japan she'd forgotten about. She was suddenly overcome with the sheer joy of backIt had really been too long.

As they walked, Kagome pointed out the park she'd played at when she was a child and the bookstores she'd frequented as a teenager with her friends. They stopped at Wacdonald's for lunch and discussed the finer points of Japanese culture and the few cultural faux pas Harry would need to watch out for.

"So basically as long as I bow when I meet someone, address everyone by their surnames, don't stick my chopsticks straight up into my rice or attempt to pass food with my chopsticks, I should be fine?" Harry asked incredulously as he bit into his hamburger.

Kagome giggled and took as sip of her soda, "Yes, that's pretty much it. We may be known for politeness, but honestly, how hard is it to remember to be polite?"

Harry shrugged, "You haven't really been around the Weasley family. I don't really see them fitting in here very well."

She thought about Ron's eating habits and figured that if he was anything like the rest of his family, Harry was undoubtedly correct about that.

After they finished eating, they gathered their belongings and emptied their food trays and continued their journey. When they finally reached the Shrine it was already well into the afternoon and the sun was setting over the hills behind the Shrine.

As they climbed the long set of stairs leading to the top, she laughed aloud at Harry cursing the steps she'd spent her whole life climbing, and it really sunk in that she was _home_.

When they finally reached the top she stopped and just drank in the site of it: the Ancient Tree, the Well House, the Shrine area, the house, it was all still there, just as if she'd never left.

_Goshinboku never seems to age, regardless of the century._

A breeze blew through her hair and a leaf fluttered by, briefly touching on her shoulder before floating away on the breath of wind. There'd always been something about the shrine; that pure quiet of the mind that it brought out in her, even in the midst of the racket of the city, always soothed her spirit. It was here that her soul was renewed.

Harry also seemed to be affected by this place; his shoulders were less tense, his brow un-furrowed, even after the long climb. She reached out and touched her aura with his, something she hadn't consciously done in a long time, but she felt him react to the spiritual touch and then begin to settle into a deep calm.

She smiled. "Harry, are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," he took in a deep breath and let it all out in a puff.

They walked up to the door to her house and rang the chime.

The door swung open and a very surprised Mama Higurashi appeared, "Kagome! Oh, Kagome! What are you doing here?" she cried excitedly, joyfully hugging her daughter. "I've missed you so much!"

Kagome hugged her mother back fiercely, "I've missed you too, Mama. It's very good to be home."

Her mother stood back a bit to look at her, "Are you home for the summer? I thought finals weren't for a few weeks yet?" She glanced over Kagome's shoulder at Harry standing sheepishly behind her. "And who is this nice young man you have you brought home this time?" she asked, smiling gently.

Kagome's face burned. _It was really only the once… _

"I'm Harry Potter, it's nice to meet you," Harry said, bending at the waist in the traditional bow. Kagome smiled gratefully at him for remembering.

"It's lovely to meet you as well, Potter-san. Won't you come in?" Higurashi-san said, opening the door wider for both of them to come in and letting them take their shoes off.

"I'm sorry the house is such a mess, I'm in the middle of making dinner," she said as they walked into the kitchen.

"Oh, Mama, you have no idea how much I've missed your cooking," Kagome said, taking a seat at the kitchen table. "What's for dinner?"

"Tonkatsu," Higurashi-san replied, returning the put bubbling on the stove. "And miso and rice, of course."

"That sounds wonderful, Mama." Kagome's stomach growled loudly.

"What is tonkatsu, Kagome?" Harry asked.

"Breaded pork cutlet," Higurashi-san responded as she stirred the soup. "Are you one of Kagome's colleagues at the University, Potter-san? Your Japanese is rather good."

Kagome and Harry shared a knowing glance, "Yes," Kagome answered. "Harry is a fellow teacher. He is interested in the legend of the _shikon no tama_ and I thought that since I was planning a surprise trip home, he should come with me," she lied quickly, but her mother didn't seem to notice.

Higurashi-san nodded absently as she walked over to the pantry and dug out the rice. "I'm so sorry, dear, I'd love to chat some more, but I really must get dinner ready. Perhaps you could show Potter-san the grounds? Dinner will be ready in about half an hour."

Kagome nodded. "I can show you _Goshinboku_."

"_Goshinboku_?" Harry asked as he put his shoes back on and walked out into the late afternoon sunshine, Kagome close behind him.

"The ancient tree, over there," she clarified, pointing. "The story of my life is written on that tree," she said a little sadly. "I always felt that although the enshrinement to the _kami_ was in the _honden _over on the far side of the groundsI somehow knew that the spirit that the Shrine was built for was the spirit in this tree. The paper streamers mark the tree as sacred."

"I know what you mean," Harry said as walked up to get a better look and she saw him notice the barren area on the trunk. "Is this...?"

"Where Inuyasha was held fast by an arrow five hundred years ago?" she replied sadly. "Yes, it is."

Kagome closed her eyes and reached out with her aura to touch Harry's again and felt him touch the hole in the bark where the arrow point had pierced the tree and the rush of energy from the tree to Harry almost overwhelmed her.

A vision of Inuyasha's deep gold eyes, hot and intense, flashed across her mind's eye, and for the first time in a very long time she wished desperately to know where he was and how he was doing and if he was happy. Hot tears gathered in her eyes and she tried willing them away, but one managed to escape and roll down her cheek.

Harry drew his hand away and looked at Kagome with an understanding and gentle expression on his face. "There is a lot of magic in this place," he noted. "It fills me up with it, almost."

"There's a lot of history to this place," she answered. "We should go back inside, help my mother with setting the table."

Harry agreed and followed her slowly back into the house.

Dinner went fairly smoothly, for the most part. Souta was unable to join them, although Kagome did get to speak with him on the phone for a bit and he promised to come over soon for dinner to see her, and her grandfather was his normal wacky self.

She amusingly observed Harry patiently listening to her grandfather explain all about the history of the Shrine and Shintoism in general from the sink while she and her mother cleaned up the dishes.

Harry actually rather seemed to enjoy the family atmosphere, it took her a moment to remember that he was not used to having family at all and it made her humble and grateful for having such a wonderful and understanding mother.

By the time she dried the last dish, Harry and her grandfather joined her in the kitchen and her mother re-appeared from upstairs.

"Kagome, I put the guest futon on the floor in your old room," Higurashi-san said with a knowing smile.

"Wh.. what?" Kagome sputtered, surprised. _Is she assuming Harry and I are together?_

Seeming to read her thoughts, her mother quietly responded with a barely detectable smirk, "Well, that was where the last boy you brought home for extended visits stayed, although I will assume Potter-san would rather sleep on a futon than sitting up."

Harry threw an extremely bewildered glance at Kagome, but she just smiled and shook her head and went to grab their bags from the front hall and wandered up the stairs to her old room.

The room hadn't changed much either. "You sure like pink, don't you?" Harry asked upon entering.

"Shut up," Kagome glared at him. "I was teenaged girl once, what do you expect?"

They changed into their pajamas and settled into their respective sleeping places, although Kagome's heart panged briefly as she realized that she was going to miss Harry's weight in the bed with her. 'Mustn't get ahead of yourself,' she reprimanded the voice in her head.

Harry yawned. "Is the small house next to the tree the house with the well in it? The well to the other era, I mean."

"Yes," she stretched out and pulled the comforter up to her chest and snuggled into her pillow.

"Is it sealed, do you think?"

Kagome frowned. "I don't know, actually. I haven't tried it. There were only two people who could go through the well: Inuyasha and myself. So either he didn't want to come find me, or he couldn't." She sighed and rolled over to face Harry, letting her hand drop to the floor. "I have to admit I didn't really want to find out if it was the former."

Harry's eyes were closed, but he managed to reach out and caught her hand. He gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"It's okay, Kagome," he mumbled sleepily. "It's all okay now isn't it?"

Kagome took her hand back and closed her eyes.

_Yeah_, she thought as she drifted off, _maybe it is._


	12. Chapter 10: Doufuku

**(A/N): **_Light in Dark Places_ has been nominated for "Best Crossover" at the Quill to Parchment Awards site, so if you have time, please stop by (quilltoparchment dot com slash vote dot html) and vote for me!

Also, thank you very much for all of the wonderful reviews! They really help to keep me going!

**Light in Dark Places**

By: Eilan-san

ooo

**_Chapter 10: Doufuku_**

****

_All began in love; all seeks to return to love. Love is the law, the teacher of wisdom, and the great revealer of mysteries._

_--from the oral Faery tradition_

ooo

Kagome wandered downstairs sleepily, still clad in her pajamas, to find her mother already awake and making breakfast.

The pungent smell of the fresh miso and rice hit her nose and she breathed in deeply. This was much better than the instant stuff she had back in London. She made a mental note to ask her mother to send her home with some when they left again.

"Is your friend still asleep, Kagome?" her mother asked, attempting to be nonchalant.

"Yes, Harry's still asleep. I imagine he'll sleep for a little while longer," she replied, pouring herself a cup of coffee. "Out of curiosity, Mama, why didn't you recommend that Harry use Souta's room? It's not like Souta's been using it."

Higurashi-san shrugged. "I thought he'd be more comfortable with you there," she said, taking a sip of her tea. "Besides, you remember how Souta is about people sleeping in his room."

Kagome nodded knowingly. Souta had nearly had a fit when one of her grandfather's friends from Kyoto had come to visit in September and they'd let him use Souta's room. He didn't speak to them for weeks.

"Where is Jii-chan, anyway?" Kagome asked. "I've hardly seen him since we got here."

"He's out cleaning the grounds as usual. He figured you would sleep in, but he'll be back in for breakfast," Higurashi-san answered, giving the miso another stir. "I do hope Potter-san likes _tamagoyaki_."

"I'm sure he'll like it. He's eaten everything else I've put in front of him thus far," Kagome said casually, but blushed when she caught her mother looking at her.

"So this is not strictly a professional relationship then?"

Kagome's cheeks burned. "I, um… well, I'm not sure," she said sheepishly.

Higurashi-san smiled gently at her daughter, "He seems like a very nice boy. Would it be so bad to have it not be strictly professional?"

"No, I mean… of course not. He's just… it's complicated," Kagome said quickly.

"Clearly it's not that complicated. It would appear that you already told him about the well."

Kagome gasped. "How did you know?"

"I'm a mother, dear, I just know these things," she smiled again and patted Kagome on the shoulder. "Your grandfather was surprised you'd told him, though. I don't think either of us expected you'd tell anyone. But there is something about this one… something special. I do hope you hang onto him."

Kagome rubbed her temples. Harry was definitely special and she knew that she was already in deeper than she'd anticipated. She could barely contain the butterflies in her stomach when he'd smile at her, or how her heart would leap when his hand would brush hers.

Harry was… unlike anyone she'd ever met. She'd finally met someone with whom she could finally be herself. No lies about why she'd been so sick during her high school years, no nothing. But still, she couldn't shake the nagging feeling that after all this time there was a part of her that hadn't really let Inuyasha go yet.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the person in question meandered down the stairs and her heart fluttered and she couldn't help but smile like a fool.

_Normalcy is overrated anyway._

Higurashi-san leaned over Kagome's shoulder just long enough to whisper in her ear, "You know, if I were younger I might try and steal him from you."

"Mama!" Kagome exclaimed, blushing madly.

"Morning," Harry said drowsily as he arrived at the bottom of the stairs, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and his hair adorably askew.

"Ah, Potter-san," Higurashi-san said cheerfully. "You're just in time. Breakfast is almost ready." She laid out the bowls of rice and miso and a small plate with the rolled omelet and a few pickles and Harry's nose turned up slightly.

"What?" Kagome asked, smirking.

"Uh, this is breakfast?" Harry asked, eyebrow quirked.

"Yes," Kagome said, trying to keep a straight face with Harry's face contorting in all sorts of strange ways as he bit into a piece of pickled radish.

He swallowed painfully, "I think I'll stick to the rice." Kagome dissolved into a fit of giggles and Higurashi-san just clicked her tongue and shook her head with a smile.

"Really, Potter-san," Higurashi-san admonished as she took a bite of her pickles. "I'm beginning to wonder how you learned Japanese so well without having eaten any of our food. Did your teacher never take you out for sushi?"

Kagome choked on her omelet.

"Er, no, ma'am," Harry said sheepishly.

"Harry, um, Harry is…" Kagome said hastily, searching for an appropriate answer but finding none.

Unfortunately, the situation was not helped when Buyo came proudly tottering down the stairs with his newest prize in his jaws.

"Gah! Buyo!" Kagome screeched and ran for the cat, who in turn ran from her and hid under the couch in the living room.

"Kagome, was that what I think it was?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Yes, he has it wedged up under the couch now," Kagome said, lying down on the floor and desperately trying to reach Harry's wand. "He must have gone through your pack."

"What does he have, dear?" Higurashi-san asked. "Buyo, come here," she called, and surprisingly, the cat came, dragging the wand along behind him.

Kagome and Harry just stared at each other, completely unsure of what to do as Higurashi-san picked up the wand and studied it.

"Potter-san, what is this?" she asked curiously. "It looks like a wand or something, like from a Western fairy tale."

"Uh…" Harry stuttered and glanced at Kagome, who was looking ashen.

"We might as well tell her," she sighed as she closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. Her mother had certainly heard stranger things. "Harry's a wizard, Mama. That's his wand."

"Oh, is that all?" Higurashi-san asked, a smile lurking about her lips. "Considering that the last boy you brought home was a _hanyou_, I didn't think you'd settle for a normal boy. I'm honored to have a wizard in my home."

Kagome's face burned, but Harry just laughed.

"Higurashi-san, you are too kind," he replied.

"So they have a wizard teaching at the University of London?" Higurashi-san asked, one eyebrow quirked. "Or is that just part of the cover-story?"

"I'm sorry, Mama," Kagome said sheepishly. "Harry is kind of like a magical police detective." Higurashi-san nodded. "We met because there is a dark wizard looking for the _shikon no tama_ and he thought I could help."

"A dark wizard looking for the Jewel?" Kagome's grandfather chimed in as he walked through the door, causing everyone in the room, including the cat, to jump. "Doesn't surprise me. Would be pretty useless for a wizard, though. Are you sure he isn't possessed?"

Kagome looked at Harry triumphantly. "See, I told you so."

"I never doubted you," Harry said, holding his hands up in mock defense.

"So this fellow is possessed, eh?" Jii-chan asked. "You wouldn't know by what, would you?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, we have no idea." She paused, "Wait, why aren't you surprised there's a wizard looking for the Jewel? How do you even know about wizards?"

Her grandfather smiled. "Kagome, you don't get to be as old as I am without learning a few things about the world!" he said as he patted his chest. "There was a fifth cousin three-times removed about eight generations back who was the wizard advisor to the _daimyo_ in Hokkaido, but I'll just assume that was another one of my history lessons you never paid attention to."

Kagome frowned petulantly while Harry and Higurashi-san shared a grin. "You still didn't answer my question," she insisted.

"The Jewel has always fascinated all sorts of people; it wouldn't be the first time a power-hungry wizard has come after it," Jii-chan shrugged. "Still doesn't change the fact that it's useless to them. Wrong kind of magic."

"What do you mean the 'wrong kind of magic'?" Harry asked as he leaned forward, the legs of his chair scraping against the linoleum.

Jii-chan looked sharply at Harry and regarded him for a long moment. "You mean to tell me that they never explained the difference between Elemental magic and Spirit magic in those hoity-toity wizard schools of yours?"

Harry shook his head while Kagome just gaped at her grandfather.

"What's the matter with schools these days?" Jii-chan grumbled. "And stop gaping at me with your mouth hanging open like that, Kagome, you'll draw flies."

Kagome's jaw snapped shut. _You know, I think should have given the old man a little more credit…_

Jii-chan cleared his throat, "The basic difference between Elemental magic and Spirit magic is the matter of source. Spirit magic is derived from the earth, and the people's belief in the sacredness of the earth. Elemental magic is constant… sort of like a magnetic field around the earth. It doesn't have the peaks and valleys inherent in Spirit magic."

"So Spirit magic isn't specific to Shinto then?" Kagome asked.

"No, there were certainly others, but I would say that Shinto is the last domain of Spirit magic, as we are the last large population with a true belief in earth-derived spirits. Although, our spiritual practices are slowly becoming simply ritual habit now." Jii-chan paused. "I didn't use to be so powerless, you know. Back before the war… I may not have been as powerful as you, Kagome, but I wasn't worthless either."

Kagome grimaced. "You knew, then? About the powers I had while I was in the Sengoku Jidai?" She turned to her mother, "You too, Mama?"

"Are you asking if we knew why you were called to do what you did?" Mama replied. "Of course we knew, Kagome, it was karma," she said gently. "You were the only one who could complete the task you were given."

"You'd be surprised as to what we know about what you did, Kagome," her grandfather harrumphed. "It's all in the records that you never bothered to look at."

Kagome frowned again, "You mean to tell me that all the information about my trips back and forth are in the Shrine archives? And that you didn't tell me about them during any of those trips, nor when I was working on my thesis?"

Jii-chan hesitated and then nodded. "You weren't supposed to see them while everything was going on back then… you could have changed something you weren't supposed to change. We couldn't risk it. And while you were doing your thesis, because everything we have was written by your friend the monk, it would have tainted your research anyway."

"I could have made it work!" Kagome exclaimed, her eyes blazing.

"Not for your thesis it wouldn't have. He mentioned you by name," Higurashi-san interjected. "And as for the other part… well, the greater story required you to be unaware of your destiny."

"Greater story?" Harry asked as he put a hand on Kagome's shoulder, since she looked like she was about to either burst into tears or scream bloody murder at her family members.

"Kagome," Jii-chan started as he sat down on the floor, smiling kindly. "I'm afraid that the _shikon no tama_ is not the main legend of our shrine."

"_What?"_ Kagome asked miserably. "What do you mean? That's what we've always said, that's what we're on the maps for…"

"Jii-chan, let me tell her," Higurashi-san said gently. "Yes, the shrine for all outward appearances is dedicated to the Jewel, however, over many years it acquired a second purpose, connected to but still separate from the first. The second purpose would be to keep watch for the return of the great Priestess Midoriko, who would defeat the demon inside the Jewel and purify it out of existence."

"Okay," Kagome said, furrowing her brow. "That makes some sense at least. Although I'm not sure why you couldn't have just told me."

"Because we thought that the reincarnation of Midoriko might be _you_," Jii-chan supplied with a sigh.

Both Harry and Kagome's jaws dropped.

"But…" Kagome said, bewildered. "I don't understand. I'm fairly sure that I am _Kikyou's _reincarnation, yes. But not Midoriko!"

"It's highly likely that Kikyou was also her reincarnation," Higurashi-san said quietly. "It would only make sense, after all."

She looked at her grandfather and mother, who were both smiling tightly at her, and then met Harry's eyes and saw… _compassion, _and it was suddenly too much to bear. She stood up quickly. "Excuse me, I need to think about this some more," she said as she turned quickly on her heel and headed up to her room.

Harry got up to follow her, but was stopped by Higurashi-san. "Just give her some time, Potter-san. She's been through a lot."

Harry nodded, "Yes, she has. And it seems like it's not over yet."

"Likely not," Higurashi-san assented.

"She'll come around eventually though," Jii-chan said. "Alright, Mama, I'm going to go searching through the archives to see if I can find anything of use for Kagome and Potter-san."

"Okay, lunch will be ready at the normal time," she said as he walked back outside and disappeared into one of the buildings on the far side of the yard.

"Kagome, when she was younger, liked very much to do things on her own." Higurashi-san said as she walked back to the sink and poured herself another mug of tea. "She told us virtually nothing of her trips to the _Sengoku Jidai_, but it's not like I didn't notice the new scars she had every time she came home, or the hollow look in her eyes, the look of someone who has seen far too much death for someone as young as she was."

Harry closed his eyes. He certainly knew about seeing death at a young age.

"And although I do know some of it from the literature and such, I cannot even begin to imagine what it would have been like to live through such things," she finished. "Tea?"

"Yes, please." Harry took the offered cup gratefully. "She's very lucky to have such an understanding family," Harry said wistfully.

"Are your parents still with you, Potter-san?" she asked, sipping the warm liquid slowly.

"No," Harry said, consciously avoiding clenching his teeth out of habit. "My parents died when I was very young. I was raised by my aunt and uncle, but we did not get along very well."

She nodded. "May I ask what happened?"

"They were murdered by a very dark wizard because he thought I would grow up to be a threat to him. He tried to kill me too, but the curse rebounded and I lived," Harry said, staring intently into his teacup. "I finally defeated him just after I was out of school."

"You must be a great wizard then," she said affectionately. "I'm very glad that my daughter has found a kindred spirit. It always makes it easier going through life's trials with someone else at your side, and I seriously doubt either of you will find anyone else who understands the ordeals you have been through." She paused, "There is also the fact that I am a bit selfish." He looked at her quizzically.

Higurashi-san smiled, slightly ashamed. "You aren't trying to take my daughter away from me, to a place where I cannot visit like Inuyasha. I did like the boy, he was a good protector for her, and he clearly loved her, but…" she sighed. "I was just terribly afraid that one day she would leave and just simply never return."

"I could never take her away from her family," Harry said quietly as he watched the tealeaves float aimlessly in his cup. "I grew up without one, and I would never begrudge someone else theirs."

Harry was startled by the sudden feeling of Higurashi-san's hand on his shoulder.

"Potter-san, I hope you know you are always welcome as a part of our family," she said warmly.

He smiled, happily taken aback at the intensity in those words. "Thank you, Higurashi-san, that means a lot to me."

"Now if you'll excuse me, I should really tend to the dishes," she said.

"And I should really take a shower," Harry replied as he wandered up the stairs, stopping by Kagome's bedroom to grab his clothes for the day and to give a quick hug to Kagome, who was looking a little pale but mostly okay, before heading to the bathroom.

Standing in the warm water and surveying the shower littered with shampoo bottles, he realized that he felt very comfortable here. Maybe even more so than he had ever been at the Weasley house. He certainly enjoyed the loudness from time to time, but sometimes he really just liked the quiet.

'I could really be happy here,' he thought, which both amazed and excited him. He was comfortable, and he wasn't used to being comfortable, especially not with a woman.

_I'm very glad she's found a kindred spirit_, Higurashi-san had said. Kindred spirits. He liked the sound of it. They understood each other, and that was more than he could say for anyone else he'd ever met.

When Harry returned downstairs from his shower, Kagome had returned from her room and was discussing something with her mother and grandfather at the low dining room table, which was peppered with ancient-looking scrolls. Kagome motioned for him to sit beside her and he plopped down onto the tatami mat.

"Do you remember my friend in Kyoto? The one who came to visit and slept in Souta's room and he had a fit?" Jii-chan asked.

Kagome laughed. "Yes, of course I remember."

"Well, I just called him and he said that he has several books in his own archives that would be of use to you, but you'll have to go out there to his temple in order to see them. He's much more well versed in modern demon lore than I am," Jii-chan said, gesturing to the scrolls in front of them. "These just concern the old legends, and the legend about Midoriko's soul."

Harry leaned over to Kagome. "How are you doing?" Harry asked softly.

She gave him a small smile, "I'm doing okay. It's not the strangest thing that's ever happened to me. Getting dragged into the well by a giant centipede, now that was the strangest thing that's ever happened to me."

"I still would like to know where she came from," Jii-chan said loudly. "As far as I'd known she'd been dead for centuries in there."

Kagome shrugged, "Maybe she got stuck in the time warp between the two centuries."

"That would be my guess," Higurashi-san said. "The well has lost its magic since you came back, however, so I wouldn't worry about it anymore."

"It has?" Harry asked, somewhat incredulously. "What happened to it?"

Kagome piped up with the answer this time, "Well, if what my grandfather says is true, then it's likely that once that part of my task was done, it wasn't needed anymore, so it simply switched itself off."

"Ah," Harry said. "It's a good thing you didn't try it again then."

Kagome nodded. "Not that I wanted to anyway… I needed that part of my life to be over and since Inuyasha never came for me, I always assumed that it was because he either didn't want me, or he couldn't come for me. Either way, I didn't want to go back."

She glanced fondly at her mother, "Besides, I would have missed this place too much." Higurashi-san beamed.

"And the lack of electricity certainly wouldn't have helped," Higurashi-san replied.

"Agreed," Kagome said.

"So what is our plan, then?" Harry asked.

"We'll head out to Kurama-dera after lunch and go visit Fushikenwa-sensei and see if he has anything interesting to add to our research," Kagome supplied. "If we're lucky we can figure out what kind of demon is possessing Malfoy and how to defeat it."

"If we're lucky," Harry repeated.

"We'll have to keep our fingers crossed," Kagome said grimly. "Because if Fushikenwa-sensei doesn't know, all we can do is wait for the demon to come to us and pray that whatever we come up with on the spot works."

"Eh, that's about par for the course for me," Harry said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Really?" Kagome said, surprised, "That is my usual plan of attack, too."

They both regarded each other for a long moment before dissolving into giggles.

Jii-chan turned to Higurashi-san, hands on his hips. "Kami preserve us if these two are going to save us from _anything_!" he said indignantly.

Higurashi-san just smiled. _Kindred spirits indeed. _


	13. Chapter 11: Kyuudou

**(A/N): **Okay, so _Deathly Hallows_ has come and gone, and now that we know where things stand with Harry's half of the story, let's just pretend that the Epilogue never happened and the only character who died who has made an appearance here is still alive. Otherwise, everything else works. :o)

**Light in Dark Places**

By: Eilan-san

ooo

**_Chapter 11: Kyuudou_**

_Jay: What's that thing when everything intersects?_

_Sam: The Bermuda Triangle._

_--"Sleepless in Seattle"_

ooo

"What are we doing here?" Draco asked irritably as he ducked, trying to avoid the crumbling rock that fell from overhead.

"Because this is the place where I can re-energize, Malfoy-san," the figure in the shadows said calmly. "And I cannot re-energize while inside your body."

Draco frowned and shifted uncomfortably. "I really wish we could stop with that possessing thing. It's starting to get old." In fact, every time the demon left him he felt more and more drained, like a piece of his soul was missing.

"You know it's the only way for us to move around undetected," the figure responded. "Besides, it's certainly helped, hasn't it? Higurashi didn't even notice my presence when she met you, and she's likely the only one in the world who would have been able to in the first place." He laughed ominously, "Which works out in our favor, her spiritual senses are diluted which will make it easier for us to get what we need."

Draco nodded tightly. "Where do we go from here? Potter has been with her day and night for since that hack wizard attacked them on Tuesday; and I may be good, but I know that I can't take Potter in a fight."

"Ideally, you won't have to. MacGregor proved that your magic spells can be performed on a practitioner of spiritual magic, provided they do not invoke their power. As such, with the two of us together, Potter will be completely ineffective against you with my protection, and you would be able to duel with him on your own magic skills as well."

"Why wouldn't she invoke her power? If she's as strong as you say she is, that would change everything," Draco countered.

"Higurashi does not seem to be aware that her power exists, so that is a boon for us." Draco could see him strike a meditative pose in the shadows. "The _shikon no tama_ is irrevocably tied to her spiritual energy, however, she is mentally cut off from that power."

"What if she becomes un-cut off from her power, then?" Draco asked crossly.

"If she becomes fully in control of her power, then we shall lose," he replied flatly. "Which is why we shall test her." The demon stood up and walked toward a small patch of sunlight in the middle of the room, but stood just outside it.

"Taro!" he called, snapping his fingers. A puff of smoke appeared to his left and a small, red demon with a long nose that looked vaguely like a bird emerged, sputtering.

"Iyoku-sama…." The smaller demon stuttered, bowing low. "What an honor it is! How can I be of service?"

"I need a favor, Taro. I need you to find the priestess of the _shikon no tama, _Higurashi Kagome, and wake the Jewel up."

"Iyoku-sama has finally found her?" Taro asked, eyes wide. "Iyoku-sama has found the guardian of the Jewel?"

"Obviously, or I would not have said so, you ingrate." Iyoku said, annoyed. "Find her, confront her, and see if you can take the Jewel from her. It is quite firmly ingrained inside of her, so you will likely need to coax it out of her, and that will likely kill her," he said frankly.

Taro paled, but tried to keep his head up. "This is a great honor for the Taro family…Yes, Iyoku-sama, anything you wish, Taro will retrieve the Jewel for you…" Taro faltered.

Iyoku simply rolled his eyes. "I only called you because she is heading to your home in Kurama as of this morning, and because her power is currently locked away. It would behoove you to avoid awakening that part of her soul, lest she destroy you."

"Yes… Iyoku-sama…" Taro whimpered. "Taro is a good servant and is indebted to Iyoku-sama, Taro will do whatever you say…"

Draco smiled; Taro reminded him of Dobby except Dobby actually had spirit when necessary. Taro simply sniveled.

Iyoku rubbed his temples. "Your service will be remembered, Taro, and you may consider your family debt to me fulfilled should you return with the Jewel in hand."

Taro's eyes grew wide. "Anything for the Lord of the Northern Lands, my liege…" Taro sputtered and made another attempt at a clumsy bow before making a hasty exit in a puff of smoke.

Draco looked at Iyoku with an eyebrow raised. "You really think he'll succeed?"

"He may wake her up, but he will not kill her, nor take the Jewel. Regardless, I expect he will return with some vital information that will allow us to plan our next move."

"You never said that we were going to have to kill her," Draco said tersely. This entire ordeal was not panning out how he'd expected. Power was one thing, killing someone clearly dear to Harry Potter? That was something else entirely. He'd seen what happened to people who attacked those near and dear to the Potters, and he did not wish to be in that number.

"Oh? Getting cold feet are we?" Iyoku said snidely. "You asked for power, I am arranging for you to have it. It is too late to go back now, Malfoy-_sama_."

Draco did not have a good feeling about this.

ooo

The trip thus far to Kurama-dera had been mostly uneventful. Harry and Kagome had arrived at the Ministry and ordered a portkey to the Kyoto train station where they had caught the subway, and then another train to the twin villages of Kurama and Kibune.

Not difficult at all.

It was the thousand-step staircase that led up to the mountain that was killing him.

"Kagome, wait…" Harry stopped and kneeled on the ground to catch his breath. "I need to rest."

Kagome, who was a few steps ahead of him, turned and looked back at him and laughed. "Oh, Harry, you really need to exercise more," she said as she walked back down to him and knelt next to him.

"What is it with you people and stairs?" he asked, huffing and puffing.

"We like our exercise," she replied, helping him up and guiding him over to a rest area. "The journey to a meditative place should be meditative in and of itself."

"I suppose it makes sense, but did you have to have so many?" Harry said, pulling himself onto a nearby stone bench.

"Why can't wizards make portkeys that land on top of the mountain instead of at the bottom?" she countered merrily.

"Because they have to have been there in order to set the exact location of arrival. Wouldn't want to end up in a tree or splinched would you?"

"Fair enough," she said, taking her pack off and pulling out the package of _onigiri _she'd packed as a snackand two bottles of water. "Here, drink this," she commanded, offering him one of the bottles.

He took them gratefully and downed half the bottle of water in one gulp, nearly spilling its contents all over himself.

"How much farther is it?" he asked as he reached for his _onigiri_, silently praying she would say it wasn't far.

"Hm… we're maybe two thirds of the way up. We already passed the Shinto gate and shrine area, so the next stop is the Buddhist temple."

"Right-o," Harry said, finishing his water. "So this Fushikenwa-sensei, he's a friend of your grandfather's?"

"Yes, he is a _yamabushi_, sort of a hermit-warrior monk, and he's the proprietor of this temple. Our shrine really is only concerned with the events surrounding the _shikon no tama_, but our records are very spotty with anything other than that. Kurama-dera has the largest archives of demon lore in Japan and their records are quite thorough."

She paused, her eyes wandering over the mountainside. "I was up here a lot while I was researching for my dissertation. He liked to bring me tea while I studied." Kagome stood up and adjusted her pack before looking back down at Harry. "He's a little rough around the edges, but he's a nice old man."

Harry nodded, noticing the far-away look in her eyes. "Let's hope he has the information we need then."

Thankfully, it only took them another forty-five minutes to climb the rest of the mountain, and they were rewarded with a truly fantastic view.

The main temple building was set against a backdrop of the rest of the mountain and overlooked a beautiful scene of the rolling hills covered in a blanket of trees. Harry walked over to the fence guarding the edge of the cliff and just stared in awe, Kagome close behind him.

"Hard to believe we're only half an hour outside of Kyoto, isn't it?" she said, smiling slightly. "Being out here reminds me of the Sengoku Jidai so much… it wasn't until I'd left that I realized how much I missed the greenery and the forests."

"I can certainly understand that," Harry concurred.

"Ah, Kagome-san," a gruff, gravelly voice called out from behind them. "I'm glad to see the walk up the mountain didn't do too much damage."

Harry and Kagome turned around to find a short, very old and balding man in monk's robes walking in their direction. "Fushikenwa-sensei, how nice to see you again," Kagome said, bowing slightly. "This is Potter-san, a friend of mine from London."

Fushikenwa-sensei nodded curtly at Harry before turning his attention back to Kagome, "So you are in need of information about _youkai_ legends today?"

"Yes," Kagome replied. "We're looking for any information regarding modern demons, I was under the impression they'd all died out, but we think we've come across one."

Fushikenwa-sensei laughed, "I'm curious to know how you would have missed it if it was, in fact, a _youkai._"

Kagome sheepishly stared at the ground and unconsciously dug a toe into the dirt. "We think the _youkai_ is possessing someone in order to get its hands on the _shikon no tama_."

Fushikenwa-sensei quirked an eyebrow, "You've decided they aren't just legends after all?"

Kagome shrugged. "I don't know. These people seem to think I know where the _shikon_ is, so we're hoping to preempt them by either finding it before they do or finding them and capturing them."

"Keh, and I suppose you're needing me to help you figure out what kind of demon is possessing this person?" he asked, a small smile peeking out from his lips.

"Yes, sir," she replied, "Legends, stories, anything could help at this point."

"I think I have a few scrolls in the archives that will assist you. Follow me," he said, turning and heading toward the small building off to the side of the main temple. He seated Harry and Kagome at a low table in his office and then disappeared for a few minutes down a dark hallway before returning with an armful of scrolls and books.

"You're in luck that it's not tourist season, we should have plenty of time to go over this stuff today," Fushikenwa-sensei said gruffly, dropping the literature unceremoniously on the table. "How much does your friend here know about _youkai _legends, Kagome-san?"

"Not much," Harry said awkwardly, clearing his throat. "Kagome's grandfather explained to me the difference between elemental magic and spirit magic, but that's about it."

Fushikenwa-sensei glanced at Kagome quizzically, before studying Harry for a long . moment. "You're one of those wizards aren't you?"

"How is it that everyone knows about wizards except me?" Kagome asked indignantly. "Was I left out of some sort of club?"

Harry laughed while Fushikenwa-sensei just shook his head. "You don't get to be as old as I am without noticing things," he said crustily.

"That's what her grandfather said," Harry said, still smiling.

Kagome pouted. "Two peas in a pod, you are," she said dryly. "Yes, Harry's a wizard. He's tracking the wizard who was looking for the Jewel, which led him to me, and to the discovery that the wizard is possessed by some sort of _youkai,_" she explained.

"Right," Fushikenwa-sensei began, arranging himself on the tatami so he could sit in a cross-legged position, "I suppose I should start by saying that there are so few _youkai_ left that for a random wizard to be possessed by one is something of a feat in and of itself. The Meiji Restoration, with its industrialization and especially the firearms, absolutely decimated the _youkai _populationin Japan; it went from two hundred thousand to little over a thousand in less than fifty years. By 1900 the only _youkai _clans left were the ones that already looked like humans, or the ones that were able to assume a human form."

Kagome nodded in agreement, "I had figured that our _youkai_ was likely in the latter category."

"That would be my guess as well. _Youkai, _spirit magic users that they are, also require forests and general open spaces in order to have any power whatsoever, and the advent of industrialization and cities required most types of _youkai_ to retreat further and further into the wilderness." Fushikenwa-sensei paused. "The American fire-bombing campaign took the rest of them," he said sadly. "There's only a handful left now and they tend to congregate in out of the way places."

"What about places outside of Japan like England, for example?" Harry asked. "Clearly our _youkai_ has been living in London for some time now."

Fushikenwa-sensei considered this with a thoughtful look on his face. "Well, I would imagine he would need to be near a spiritual center – an ancient temple or sacred grove of trees or something similar. The _youkai_ would need to return there regularly to recharge. _Youkai_ can't really handle living in the cities for too long – it hurts their noses and ears too much."

Kagome tried to stifle a giggle, causing a shadow to pass across Fushikenwa-sensei's face, but it was gone so quickly Harry wasn't sure he'd seen it at all.

"I have the benefit of having literature concerning the _shikon no tama_ written by _youkai, _rather than the ones written by the humans who protected it at your shrine, Kagome-san," Fushikenwa-sensei said, digging through the pile and fishing out a particularly old looking scroll. "There were rumors of a cult in the early part of the eighteenth century that was convinced that the priestess who guarded the _shikon_ would return and that they should keep watch for her."

Harry and Kagome shared an ominous look as he continued, "Specifically, it was led by a clan of _shinma youkai_." He paused again and glanced at them, "Are you familiar with the _shinma_?"

Kagome and Harry shook their heads.

"I thought not," he replied. "_Shinma _are possibly the most dangerous of all types of _youkai_ left in existence. They thrive on the dark ambitions of their victims and feed off of their worst memories. Their victims are rarely left better than dead once they are done with them."

Harry shuddered and wondered if the _shinma _were related to Dementors.

"They mostly are located out farther north up towards Hokkaido, as they prefer the colder weather," Fushikenwa-sensei continued, stopping briefly to blow his nose.

"Really?" Kagome interjected. "If I recall correctly, legend states that the dog demons ruled Hokkaido and I imagine they would have run them out years ago."

"The dog demons were all slaughtered during the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877. The Dog King was not appreciative of the outlawing of carrying swords, apparently," Fushikenwa-sensei said sardonically. "The lands fell to the _shinma_ shortly after that." He stopped and looked at Kagome, who was staring off into the distance distractedly. "Kagome-san, what's the matter?"

She looked back at them with a perplexed look on her face, "I don't know, I feel…" her eyes widened, "A _youkai_!" she exclaimed, standing up, "A _youkai _coming this way!"

From outside they could hear a young woman screaming, causing Fushikenwa-sensei to curse. "Why today of all days?" he said under his breath.

Kagome and Harry ran outside as quickly as they could, Fushikenwa-sensei not far behind them, to see a small red-faced demon with a large nose seemingly suspending a young woman in a golden orb about twenty feet off the ground.

"Ah… there you are Higurashi-sama, I have been looking for you…" the demon sneered. "Iyoku-sama needs the Jewel and Taro will get it for him… yes…" the demon said as he advanced on Kagome.

Harry pulled his wand out of his pocket, stepping in front of Kagome and silently cast _petrificus totalus_ at the demon and was shocked to find that it had absolutely no effect.

"Silly wizard… wands will not work on _youkai_…" he said mockingly in Harry's direction. Harry's eyes narrowed and his grip on his wand tightened, but Taro simply moved his hand quickly from left to right and Harry suddenly flew backwards into a large tree, knocking the wind out of him.

"Oh, Harry!" Kagome cried, running toward him as he stumbled getting up and coughing hard.

"Kagome, look out!" Fushikenwa-sensei called out, but it was too late.

"Oh no, Higurashi-sama, you will come here," Taro said, and with a flick of his wrist Kagome flew through the air and landed at Taro's feet as if she were bound with rope. "And you, Potter-san, will stay there," with another flick of the wrist Harry was suddenly bound with the same invisible rope that bound Kagome and he sank to his knees. "And you will not interfere either, _houshi_." Fushikenwa-sensei similarly sank to his knees with a loud grunt, and with that the demon drew a thin veil of energy around himself and Kagome.

"What do you want with me!?" Kagome screamed as she struggled against the binding. "I don't have the Jewel if that's what you're after!"

Taro took her by the arms and lifted her up so she was lying on her back. "Oh, Higurashi-sama, do you not know?" He snickered quietly now, "We have been waiting for you for a very long time…" He knelt next to her, "It's time for the souls of Midoriko-sama and the Demon Lord to wake up…"

"Harry! Help me!" she shrieked, but Harry couldn't do anything.

"Kagome!" Harry yelled helplessly as he watched in horror as the demon placed his clawed hands over her heart and whispered something he couldn't quite hear, causing Kagome to scream and thrash on the ground.

"Yes… it is time to wake it up…" Taro whispered; his small flinty eyes gleaming as a small purplish-pink glow began to emanate out of Kagome's chest. "Make it grow… corrupt it… and coax it out of you…" The light began to get larger and darker, surrounding more of Kagome's torso.

"No! Stop!" she screamed. "It's not true, it's not true! I don't have it!"

"Poor Higurashi-sama, she doesn't know what happened to the Jewel when she pieced it together last time…" Taro said in a singsong voice as the light continued to slowly swirl around her. "Doesn't know it feeds off of her pain… silly girl…"

"Kagome…" Fushikenwa-sensei murmured from a few feet away. "You brought it back with you…"

Harry jerked his head and looked hard at Fushikenwa-sensei, his mind trying to wrap itself around the situation. "That's the Jewel?" Harry asked incredulously, "She has it inside her?" But Fushikenwa-sensei just ignored him.

"Fight him, you idiot, you have the power!" Fushikenwa-sensei yelled; using a powerful voice Harry was surprised to hear coming out of the old man. "Remember how you fought the centipede demon!" he shouted, but she paid no heed to it, and Harry could see the light slowly crept up her leg, spreading its dark tendrils across her body as she squirmed.

Taro made a cutting motion with his finger at the chest of where the light was shining on her body and Kagome's screams filled the air and blood began to seep onto her shirt.

"Yes, it wants to come out…" Taro said gleefully, clapping his small, gnarled hands. "It won't be long now…"

"Kagome! You have to remember how to fight, dammit! Purify the son of a bitch!" Fushikenwa-sensei cursed and strained against his invisible bonds. The dark purple light had almost encompassed her now as she struggled and whimpered.

"I can't anymore… I just can't," she sobbed brokenly.

"Kagome!" Harry called to her frantically, adding his voice to the fray in an attempt to reach her. "You have to fight! You can do this!"

She gave an anguished cry, and Harry was afraid she'd given up, but she closed her eyes and her body stilled. The light from her chest suddenly grew blindingly bright white and enveloped her entire body and Taro was thrown back nearly thirty feet, almost to the edge of the fence.

Kagome took a deep haggard breath and got to her feet, "You come any closer, or hurt any of my friends and I will purify you into dust," she said slowly, her voice shaking with anger. Her aura had shrunk but it was still burning intensely pink right around her, with swirls of purple energy at her chest. A small orb of pink energy began to coalesce in her right hand.

Taro stumbled to his feet, "Yes, Higurashi-sama… Taro is sorry, he was just under orders… will not harm the Guardian…" he whined. "Please forgive…" And then he was gone in a puff of smoke.

Harry felt the binding on him disintegrate and he immediately got up and ran to Kagome and took her immediately into his arms, which she went into gratefully. He murmured her name into her hair as her hands fisted in his shirt and she buried her head into his shoulder.

"Harry…" she sighed, her breathing ragged. "Harry, I didn't…"

"Shh, it's okay now," he said softly in as soothing a voice as he could muster. "It's okay…" he repeated as Fushikenwa-sensei approached them, clearly free of his bonds as well.

"You…" he said gruffly as Kagome pulled away from Harry. "You are an _idiot_."

"I didn't know!" Kagome protested miserably.

"How could you have _not _known?" Fushikenwa-sensei asked heatedly. "Are your senses _completely _dead?"

"No, I… I didn't know I still had it… I don't even know how or why I have it… I gave it to…"

"Yes, and it disappeared the very second you jumped back down that well the last time!" he exclaimed.

Kagome stared at Fushikenwa-sensei with her jaw hanging open, but after a moment softened and smiled affectionately at him. Fushikenwa-sensei just looked away, his wizened cheeks turning crimson. Harry, on the other hand, watched in confusion.

"Why didn't you say anything?" she asked Fushikenwa-sensei quietly.

"I'm very old, Kagome. It has been a very, very long time," he said seriously. "You needed to grow up, and I had been through too much. It was for the best."

And suddenly it dawned on Harry what they were talking about: Inuyasha…and Fushikenwa-sensei… Harry looked at the old man with new eyes.

Kagome paused, as if wanting to pursue the matter further, but decided against it and simply smiled warmly at Fushikenwa-sensei. The purple wisp of energy at her heart had lightened considerably at this point and was getting much smaller. Soon, Harry figured, it would disappear entirely.

"The Jewel… it's still inside me, then? I brought it back with me?" she asked. "What happened to it?"

"All I know is that it disappeared the last time you left," Fushikenwa-sensei answered. "As for what happened after that, I don't know. I can guess that the Jewel re-ingrained itself since it was inside you in the first place, and that it is inextricably linked to your spiritual powers, which would be why that demon tried to wake it up."

"Does the color of the energy matter?" Harry asked. "I noticed the color change from purple to pink during the fight."

Fushikenwa-sensei chuckled and looked at Kagome kindly, "Yes, Potter-san, it does. But I'll let Kagome-san answer that question."

Kagome blushed. "Surely, there's no need for honorifics now," she replied.

"Ah, but it's a sign of respect, and although I may not have respected you then, I certainly do now, Kagome-san," Fushikenwa-sensei replied solemnly, putting his hand on her shoulder. "I have watched you grow up, Kagome-san, and what a wonderful woman you have turned out to be." He cupped her chin with his free hand and said, "You should let yourself be happy." He kissed her lightly on the cheek and when he pulled back, Harry could see tears shining unshed in her brown eyes.

"I'll go get those books for you to take home with you, Kagome-san," he said, before turning towards Harry. "And Potter-san," he added, "You should let yourself be happy too. It'll be good for both of you."

Harry just nodded and took Kagome's hand and squeezed.

His heart filled with joy when she squeezed back.


End file.
